<p>Soviet dissidents have long been objects of fascination. Who were they? What made them dissent? What did they believe? And what did they endure at the hands of a repressive Soviet state? We now have a clearer picture thanks to Benjamin Nathans’ new book, <em>To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement</em>. Soviet dissidents, or as they preferred to be called “rights defenders,” navigated a complicated choreography between the movement, the police, and its supporters abroad. Their approach was a strategy of “civil obedience,” that is pressuring the Soviet government to follow its own laws. Though amounting to around a thousand active participants, their influence grew, especially as they were lionized in the Western media. In this conversation with the <em>Eurasian Knot</em>, Nathans recounts this history, highlighting the often-overlooked role of women, dissidents’ complex relationship with Soviet society, and what their experience can teach us today.</p><br><p><strong>Guest:</strong></p><p>Benjamin Nathans is the Alan Charles Kors Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of the multiple award-winning book, <em>Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter with Late Imperial Russia</em>. His latest book is <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691117034/to-the-success-of-our-hopeless-cause?srsltid=AfmBOoo5H1v7SL62Y_ftZqzmj5gjhT2Tq_xJGSA8wNM06T_zj5Nl7vgX" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement</em></a> published by Princeton University Press.</p><br><p><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8jrJ215byDwvDCXKoh8qigiAXlLN5zHcoshnJ5EmAxmmGkA/viewform?usp=header" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Send us your sounds!</a></p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/euraknot " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Become a patron!</a></p><br><p><br></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/322667">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
