THE VOLGA

by Marvin Kalb ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 1967

In the summer of '65, Marvin Kalb traveled down the Volga with four colleagues to produce a TV documentary which appears here in expanded form with pictures. He visited Volgagrad, formerly known as Stalingrad, where 600,000 German soldiers died and where the Russians have tried to raise the ideal Soviet city out of the ashes, saw the memorial in the Mamaev Hills (""clearly Russia's answer to the Egyptian pyramids""), was officiously escorted through the town of Lenin's birth, making the required pilgrimage, took a river trip (""To ordinary Russians, the river has always been a member of the family""). On to Kazan, capital of the Tactar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (""a striking study of how one culture can be tamed and then absorbed by another"") where My Fair Lady was playing; Yaroslavl, the oldest settlement, whose history reaches back to the eleventh century; Dubua, the international research center (""undoubtedly the closest Russia comes to a university town""); and at last, Moscow, Kalb's commentary is desultory and sketchy although attractive; his final comment; ""Russia seems to be struggling between the habits of the past and the needs of the future. The struggle is still inconclusive."" So is the book, although the illustrations, not seen, may well implement it.

Pub Date: March 27, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION