The Disabled in the Soviet Union - (Russian and East European Studies) by William McCagg & Lewis Siegelbaum (Paperback)

About the Book

The essays in this collection chronicle the responses of the Soviet state and society to a variety of disabled groups and disabilities.

Book Synopsis

In topics ranging from industrial accident prevention before and during Stalin's industrialization drive to the long and complex history of the Soviet science called defectology, the essays in this collection chronicle the responses of the state and society to a variety of disabled groups and disabilities. Also included, in addition to the editors, are Julie Brown, Vera Dunham, David Joravsky, Janet Knox and Alex Kozulin, Stephen and Ethel Dunn, Bernice Madison, Paul Raymond, and Mark Field.

This unusual and provocative collection brings to light a dimension of Soviet history and policy rarely explored.

Review Quotes

By far the most informed and comprehensive book ever published in the West on the position and treatment of the mentally and physically disabled in the Soviet Union.-- "Soviet Studies"

The world of the disabled in any society is something most of us know far too little about. . . . All the more reason to welcome this scholarly introduction to the problem of the disabled in Russia and the Soviet Union. . . .[I]ts thoughtful contributions illustrate how important a study of the perceptions and treatment of the disabled can be in assessing the culture of a whole society.-- "The Russian Review"

About the Author

William O. McCagg is professor of history at Michigan State University.

Lewis Siegelbaum is professor of Russian History at Michigan State University.