Grey Is The Color Of Hope

by Irina Ratushinskaya

Release Date: 12 September, 1988

Edition: Hardcover

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Worth a read

This memoir by a Russian physicist and poet offers a detailed look into the lives and imprisonment of political and ideological deviants in the 1980s USSR. The book was written soon after her release from prison. As a result, the first part is angry and lacks some of the insight that could be obtained with distance and perspective. The second half is better though and the book is book is well worth reading, both as an inside look into recent Russian history, and as the inspiring story of a woman who went to great lengths to stand up for her beliefs.

Shades of Enduring Optimism; Hope against Monochrome

Ratushinskaya, ther very accomplished poet and former Soviet exile, has produced here one of the most rspectable and well arranged books of all time. I expect it will go down as one of the most prominent and exceptional gifts of memoir for the entirety ofthe twentieth century. Unjustifiably charged in 1983 for "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" (whatever that may actually mean is obviously conjectural)for her stance on human rights and opposition to persecution of personal religious freedom and conviction, Ratushinskaya was imprisoned with a sentence of seven years, four of which were filled. Her memoir here attests to a type of courage seldom seen in any era and exceed the sometimes absurd limitations imposed by politicoes as well, the genre of writing of such an ordeal. This book, along with the follow up ("In the Beginning") are highly impressionable, admirable and an answer to anyone who ever thought either one respected for their insights or convictions seldom put to paper such depth and maturity. I haveenormous repsect for her and can highly recommend to anyone this book.