Speakers
- Masha Karp (journalist, translator of Orwell’s Animal Farm into Russian)
- John Lloyd (contributing editor and former Moscow bureau chief, Financial Times)
- Introduced by Gavin Freeguard (administrator of the Orwell Prize)
Details
At this moment what is demanded by the prevailing orthodoxy is an uncritical admiration of Soviet Russia. Everyone knows this, nearly everyone acts on it. Any serious criticism of the Soviet regime, any disclosure of facts which the Soviet government would prefer to keep hidden, is next door to unprintable.’
George Orwell, ‘The Freedom of the Press
George Orwell’s writing – especially after his experience of the Spanish Civil War – is highly critical of the Soviet regime and its uncritical adherents. His works, especially Animal Farm and 1984 (which both satirise the USSR), circulated illicitly and widely behind the Iron Curtain. So what was – and what is – Orwell’s influence on Russia? The Orwell Prize is delighted to be bringing Masha Karp and John Lloyd together to talk about Orwell and Russia, chaired by Jean Seaton.
Drinks from 6.15pm, with the talk starting at 7pm.
Links
- George Orwell: Homage to Catalonia
- George Orwell: Animal Farm
- George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four
- George Orwell: ‘The Freedom of the Press’
- Oxford 2009: Losing Russia?
- The Travel Bookshop