George Orwell and Russia

For those living in the Soviet Union Orwell's masterpieces Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four were not dystopias but accurate depictions of reality. Here the Orwell scholar and expert on Russian politics Masha Karp – Russian Features Editor at the BBC World Service for over a decade – explores how Orwell's work was received in Russia when it percolated into the country even under censorship. Suggesting a new approach to the controversial 'Orwell's list' of 1949 Karp puts into context the articles and letters written by Orwell at the time. She sheds light on how the ideas of totalitarianism exposed in Orwell's writing took root in Russia and in doing so helps us to understand the contemporary political reality. As Vladimir Putin's actions continue to shock the West it is clear we are witnessing the next transformation of totalitarianism as predicted and described by Orwell. Now over 70 years after Orwell's death his writing at least as far as Russia is concerned remains as timely and urgent as it has ever been.