The unique trajectory of Soviet dissident twin brothers Roy and Zhores Medvedev takes us through a century of history, from Stalin to Putin. They achieved fame as the first authors of independent research on Stalinism from within the USSR, but their lives were also marked by controversy.

Dr. Barbara Martin is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Her historical research, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, focuses on Soviet dissent and the religious revival in late Soviet Russia. She is the author of Dissident Histories in the Soviet Union: From De-Stalinization to Perestroika (Bloomsbury, 2019).

Dr. Barbara Martin is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Her historical research, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, focuses on Soviet dissent and the religious revival in late Soviet Russia. She is the author of Dissident Histories in the Soviet Union: From De-Stalinization to Perestroika (Bloomsbury, 2019).

“Roy and Zhores Medvedev are amongst the most fascinating and important figures in the history of Soviet dissent, but much about them has remained unknown or poorly understood until now. Barbara Martin’s account offers a meticulously researched and richly detailed history of the brothers’ parallel, but very different, lives in the Soviet Union, Western Europe, and the USA. Drawing on a huge amount of new archival and interview material, Martin traces their lives and activities across many fields, including history, science, and political activism, and through the Soviet and post-Soviet eras. The first joint biography in English, this landmark study is likely to remain the standard work for many years to come. More than just a biography, though, this new study also casts new light on the diverse practices and politics of dissidence, representing a major contribution to the new wave of scholarship on Soviet dissent.”

— Polly Jones, Professor of Russian, University of Oxford

“If we want to understand today's Russia, we need to know the biographies of its people and their winding lives, which are almost unimaginable in the West. Barbara Martin presents two such keys to Putin's Russia in the form of the ‘loyal dissidents,’ the Medvedev twins, one the famous author of Let History Judge, the other a recalcitrant biologist forced into exile in Britain in 1973. One can have been persecuted, arrested, and harassed by the Soviet state himself and still conclude that Russia must be led by a ‘strong hand.’ An important book!”

— Susanne Schattenberg, author of Brezhnev: The Making of a Statesman (2022)

“The positive and even idealized image of the Soviet dissident has become more nuanced. Barbara Martin, one of the leading scholars of dissidents in the Soviet Union, has contributed to this trend. Her book represents a synthesis of her prior research through the lives of the twin Medvedev brothers. The double biography of the Medvedev twins, the biologist Zhores and the historian Roy, will be of interest to those wishing to understand the intellectual roots of current Russian politics.”

—Artur Lakatos, Ab Imperio

“Martin’s assessment of the Medvedevs is balanced, insightful, and engaging. This book vividly brings to life the personal and political challenges faced by those who sought to challenge the Soviet system, and their efforts to engage with the world beyond the iron curtain in this pursuit. This is in many ways a fascinating book. It addresses a significant gap in the literature on the Soviet dissident movement, and will undoubtedly become a must-read for anyone interested in the characters that sought to change politics in the Soviet Union. It is a compelling read recommended to anyone interested in political dissent or the history of the Soviet Union.”

—Mark Hurst, Lancaster University, H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences

“Yet even when Martin gives the brothers full voice, it is to her credit that they don't always appear noble, ethical or as smart as they seem to think. Roy comes across as brave, conspiratorial, vainglorious and ethically compromised. Zhores was less political and ideological, but then again, he lived primarily abroad until his death in 2018. … For those who remember the brothers' publications from the 1970s and 1980s, Roy and Zhores Medvedev will provide much new detail and nuance. It may be tempting from afar to disparage their ‘loyal dissent’, but Barbara Martin reminds us that they carved out this position at great personal risk to their family and themselves. For those who have not followed their more recent story, however, the book will provide a sobering perspective on the value of a loyal Russian opposition.”

— Ethan Pollock, Times Literary Supplement

“Historian Barbara Martin has written a compelling dual biography of brothers Zhores and Roy Medvedev, who gained fame for their ‘dissident’ writings in the late Soviet period even as they advocated for the reform of socialism not its abandonment. Martin traces their respective careers, deftly summarizes their prolific writings, and shows how they navigated pressure from the state and rebutted critiques from the regime’s more radical opponents. This study is particularly valuable for its meticulous and judicious delineation of differences among Soviet era non-conformists. Martin also analyzes Roy Medvedev’s turn toward writing laudatory biographies of Nazarbaev, Lukashenko, and Putin.”

— Dr. Kathleen Smith, Professor of Teaching, Georgetown University