Mary M. Leder has lived in New York since her return from the Soviet Union in 1965.Laurie Bernstein is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University, Camden, and author of Sonia's Daughters: Prostitutes and Their Regulation in Imperial Russia.Robert Weinberg is Associate Professor of History at Swarthmore College. He is author of The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the Steps and Stalin's Forgotten Zion: Birobidzhan and The Making of a Soviet Jewish Homeland.

"Mary Mackler Leder was by no means a significant figure in Stalinist Russia, but readers will find that she writes an arresting observer's account of life in Russia over more than two decades. Sovietologists of the Stalinist era will find interesting anecdotes about Soviet life that confirm, revise, and in some cases authenticate the constructed sociology of the time. One example that constantly reappears is Leder's insistence on stating that she is an American, while the authorities both high and low, all across the Soviet Union, simply classify her as Jewish, with all the usual and stereotypical ramifications of that view. Two particular periods of the account are noteworthy—those about the purges in the 1930s and the war years, during which time her baby daughter died. Perhaps most remarkable is Leder's ability to recall her past with exquisite detail and precision so many years beyond the events. Upper-division undergraduates and above.January 2002"—C. W. Haury, Piedmont Virginia Community College

• Introduction by Laurie Bernstein and Robert WeinbergPrologue1. My Family Leaves for the Soviet Union—19312. Birobidzhan—19313. Settling in Moscow—1931 to 19324. The Factory and the Commune—The Winter of 1931/19325. A Teenager in Moscow—Spring 19326. My parents leave—Summer of 1932 to Summer of 19337. Americans and Other Foreigners in Moscow—1933 to 19348. A Biology Student at Moscow University—1934 to 19359. A History Student at Moscow University—1935 to 193610. At the Commissariat of Defense—November 1936 to March 193811. Purges and the Publishing House—Spring 1938 to Winter 193912. Newlyweds—Winter 1939 to Summer 194113. The Outbreak of War—194114. Evacuation from Moscow and Return—Fall 1941 to Spring 194215. TASS and Moscow University—1942 to 194616. Berlin—194617. Postwar Moscow—194718. Postwar Anti-Semitism—1948 to 195019. Respite—195020. During Stalin's Final Years—1950 to 1953Suggestions for Further ReadingIndex

Mary M. Leder has lived in New York since her return from the Soviet Union in 1965.Laurie Bernstein is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University, Camden, and author of Sonia's Daughters: Prostitutes and Their Regulation in Imperial Russia.Robert Weinberg is Associate Professor of History at Swarthmore College. He is author of The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the Steps and Stalin's Forgotten Zion: Birobidzhan and The Making of a Soviet Jewish Homeland.

"Mary Mackler Leder was by no means a significant figure in Stalinist Russia, but readers will find that she writes an arresting observer's account of life in Russia over more than two decades. Sovietologists of the Stalinist era will find interesting anecdotes about Soviet life that confirm, revise, and in some cases authenticate the constructed sociology of the time. One example that constantly reappears is Leder's insistence on stating that she is an American, while the authorities both high and low, all across the Soviet Union, simply classify her as Jewish, with all the usual and stereotypical ramifications of that view. Two particular periods of the account are noteworthy—those about the purges in the 1930s and the war years, during which time her baby daughter died. Perhaps most remarkable is Leder's ability to recall her past with exquisite detail and precision so many years beyond the events. Upper-division undergraduates and above.January 2002"—C. W. Haury, Piedmont Virginia Community College

• Introduction by Laurie Bernstein and Robert WeinbergPrologue1. My Family Leaves for the Soviet Union—19312. Birobidzhan—19313. Settling in Moscow—1931 to 19324. The Factory and the Commune—The Winter of 1931/19325. A Teenager in Moscow—Spring 19326. My parents leave—Summer of 1932 to Summer of 19337. Americans and Other Foreigners in Moscow—1933 to 19348. A Biology Student at Moscow University—1934 to 19359. A History Student at Moscow University—1935 to 193610. At the Commissariat of Defense—November 1936 to March 193811. Purges and the Publishing House—Spring 1938 to Winter 193912. Newlyweds—Winter 1939 to Summer 194113. The Outbreak of War—194114. Evacuation from Moscow and Return—Fall 1941 to Spring 194215. TASS and Moscow University—1942 to 194616. Berlin—194617. Postwar Moscow—194718. Postwar Anti-Semitism—1948 to 195019. Respite—195020. During Stalin's Final Years—1950 to 1953Suggestions for Further ReadingIndex

Mary M. Leder has lived in New York since her return from the Soviet Union in 1965.Laurie Bernstein is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University, Camden, and author of Sonia's Daughters: Prostitutes and Their Regulation in Imperial Russia.Robert Weinberg is Associate Professor of History at Swarthmore College. He is author of The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the Steps and Stalin's Forgotten Zion: Birobidzhan and The Making of a Soviet Jewish Homeland.

"Mary Mackler Leder was by no means a significant figure in Stalinist Russia, but readers will find that she writes an arresting observer's account of life in Russia over more than two decades. Sovietologists of the Stalinist era will find interesting anecdotes about Soviet life that confirm, revise, and in some cases authenticate the constructed sociology of the time. One example that constantly reappears is Leder's insistence on stating that she is an American, while the authorities both high and low, all across the Soviet Union, simply classify her as Jewish, with all the usual and stereotypical ramifications of that view. Two particular periods of the account are noteworthy—those about the purges in the 1930s and the war years, during which time her baby daughter died. Perhaps most remarkable is Leder's ability to recall her past with exquisite detail and precision so many years beyond the events. Upper-division undergraduates and above.January 2002"—C. W. Haury, Piedmont Virginia Community College

• Introduction by Laurie Bernstein and Robert WeinbergPrologue1. My Family Leaves for the Soviet Union—19312. Birobidzhan—19313. Settling in Moscow—1931 to 19324. The Factory and the Commune—The Winter of 1931/19325. A Teenager in Moscow—Spring 19326. My parents leave—Summer of 1932 to Summer of 19337. Americans and Other Foreigners in Moscow—1933 to 19348. A Biology Student at Moscow University—1934 to 19359. A History Student at Moscow University—1935 to 193610. At the Commissariat of Defense—November 1936 to March 193811. Purges and the Publishing House—Spring 1938 to Winter 193912. Newlyweds—Winter 1939 to Summer 194113. The Outbreak of War—194114. Evacuation from Moscow and Return—Fall 1941 to Spring 194215. TASS and Moscow University—1942 to 194616. Berlin—194617. Postwar Moscow—194718. Postwar Anti-Semitism—1948 to 195019. Respite—195020. During Stalin's Final Years—1950 to 1953Suggestions for Further ReadingIndex