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Uncovering Soviet Disasters: Exploring the Limits of Glasnost
This investigation into modern disasters in the Soviet Union, including the deaths of cosmonauts, industrial accidents, and major health crises, reveals why they were covered up and how they became known to the West
335 pages, Hardcover
First published February 12, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 17, 2018
Very informative.
September 18, 2022
The recent passing of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has highlighted for a post-Cold War generation the reforms he brought to the Soviet Union in its closing years. Yet those changes had their limits, particularly in highlighting the history of disasters and failures of Soviet technology, leadership, and economics. James Oberg, a longtime Russia watcher, revealed those limits with this 1988 book. Though more information has out about a number of the incidents featured between its cover that Oberg was obliged to give a "both sides" or incomplete approach to (such as a 1979 anthrax outbreak caused by the Soviet bioweapon program and a 1960 disaster involving an attempted rocket launch), the book remains an indispensable read for the information it contains on numerous events during the Soviet period. Not to mention a historical document of the limits of Glasnost and the levels of secrecy built into a society that maintained rather than risk tarnishing its image on the world stage.
August 28, 2024
I read this book several years ago and was looking for some information about one of these events and found it in this book. First I have met Jim and talked to him a number of times; he has met a LOT of people and might not remember me. I also was in the US Air Force and worked in the space tracking business and had heard a lot about some of these stories before I met Jim. I also worked with the Soviet and then Russians on Shuttle/Mir missions and the ISS and have worked with many Russians very closely. They are a conflicted group.
The facts are somewhat dated but this is a great resource for many important events. Jim has tried to give a balanced story, even today we have too many Cold War habits and Jim tries to resist them. He speaks Russian and has been to Russia so he has first hand experience.
This is a very readable book and is still a valuable part of the historical record.
The facts are somewhat dated but this is a great resource for many important events. Jim has tried to give a balanced story, even today we have too many Cold War habits and Jim tries to resist them. He speaks Russian and has been to Russia so he has first hand experience.
This is a very readable book and is still a valuable part of the historical record.
September 28, 2019
Interesting content that I haven't found elsewhere; some chapters read like an almanac
August 22, 2016
“A disturbing aspect about the Soviets' reaction to revelations of their secrets was the insistence that any Western attempt to explore these secret mishaps had to have been inspired by malice, not by an understandable interest in the truth. Even during the period of glasnost the ancient and strident Russian paranoia toward foreign curiosity about their failures is very evident.”
- James Oberg, Uncovering Soviet Disasters
One of my favorite “mysteries” is the conspiracy of the lost cosmonauts. Basically, it’s a theory that claims that “The Space Race” may have been built upon the corpses of many forgotten heroes lost to both time and Soviet censorship. These so-called “lost cosmonauts” have been proven to be usually more fantasy than fact, and I don't actually believe in many of the stories that have been circulating for upwards of sixty years. But all one has to do is listen to the chilling Judica-Cordiglia brothers audio recordings from 1962 that claim to be the last words of a handful of such cases, and think “what if…” I was looking for a book on this subject and was shocked to see that there really aren’t many that aren’t conspiracy nut garbage, so I broadened my net and found a series of books written by James Oberg during the Cold War. There is a chapter in here about lost cosmonauts, both factual and mythical, and information on the narrative that makes a conspiracy like this so hard to shake – if the USSR lied and covered up so much stuff, what don’t we know about?
The Purpose of Uncovering Soviet Disasters by James E. Oberg is to explore the USSR’s new (at the time) government policy of open discussion, or Glasnost (openness in Russian). The USSR had routinely covered up almost any bad news pertaining to not only government affairs but personal tragedies for so long that many were living in a dream-world of sorts for many years. This book is an attempt to “level the playing field” and expose a lot of these blatant misuses of censorship. Oberg does this by organizing everything into a series of articles each covering a different Soviet Era disaster that had been in some way wiped from public records or covered up.
Oberg usually presents many sides to each story, and since most of his “experts” were going off of eye-witness testimony or professional gut-feelings, many of the theories were vastly different from one another. For example, chapter one talks about a suspected anthrax epidemic in the early 80’s that caused dozens of deaths, but was almost unheard of until the fall of the USSR within the country itself. Some experts chalked it up to being a case of tainted meat, others blamed it on a misplaced vaccine that somehow got out of a medical facility. Since this book is so old (it was published in 1988), it was fun to look up many of the incidents listed to get an update of what really happened (since all of this info has largely been unclassified since). After the fall of the USSR it was revealed that, according to Wikipedia, that the USSR did in fact violate a biological weapons ban and produce Anthrax like many suspected, and the whole ordeal was caused by a miscommunication between workers in said weapons facility rendering a vent system offline for a few days allowing anthrax to escape unfiltered into the town. Now the whole ordeal is called “Biological Chernobyl” and is pretty infamous.
Some of the stories are a bit “tainted”, I suppose, with American Cold War era propaganda, as many Soviet “characters” are described in a less than flattering manner. In many instances, the reader is presented with the narrative that The USSR was always up to no good as if populated entirely by mustache twirling Bond Villains, or reactionary morons that were only trying to protect themselves in the face of disaster. while this wasn’t too over-the-top, it colored an otherwise well-done book. He does go to great length to talk-up the heroism and toughness of many everyday Russians in an almost “noble savage” sort of way, leaving you to admire their resolve. If anything, I REALLY wish there was a later edition of this where Oberg went back and updated everything, but alas the entire book would have to be basically re-written, and he is now in his 70’s.
All-in-all this is a good read despite the age and political motivation. I will need to look into reading more of Mr. Oberg’s work.
- James Oberg, Uncovering Soviet Disasters
One of my favorite “mysteries” is the conspiracy of the lost cosmonauts. Basically, it’s a theory that claims that “The Space Race” may have been built upon the corpses of many forgotten heroes lost to both time and Soviet censorship. These so-called “lost cosmonauts” have been proven to be usually more fantasy than fact, and I don't actually believe in many of the stories that have been circulating for upwards of sixty years. But all one has to do is listen to the chilling Judica-Cordiglia brothers audio recordings from 1962 that claim to be the last words of a handful of such cases, and think “what if…” I was looking for a book on this subject and was shocked to see that there really aren’t many that aren’t conspiracy nut garbage, so I broadened my net and found a series of books written by James Oberg during the Cold War. There is a chapter in here about lost cosmonauts, both factual and mythical, and information on the narrative that makes a conspiracy like this so hard to shake – if the USSR lied and covered up so much stuff, what don’t we know about?
The Purpose of Uncovering Soviet Disasters by James E. Oberg is to explore the USSR’s new (at the time) government policy of open discussion, or Glasnost (openness in Russian). The USSR had routinely covered up almost any bad news pertaining to not only government affairs but personal tragedies for so long that many were living in a dream-world of sorts for many years. This book is an attempt to “level the playing field” and expose a lot of these blatant misuses of censorship. Oberg does this by organizing everything into a series of articles each covering a different Soviet Era disaster that had been in some way wiped from public records or covered up.
Oberg usually presents many sides to each story, and since most of his “experts” were going off of eye-witness testimony or professional gut-feelings, many of the theories were vastly different from one another. For example, chapter one talks about a suspected anthrax epidemic in the early 80’s that caused dozens of deaths, but was almost unheard of until the fall of the USSR within the country itself. Some experts chalked it up to being a case of tainted meat, others blamed it on a misplaced vaccine that somehow got out of a medical facility. Since this book is so old (it was published in 1988), it was fun to look up many of the incidents listed to get an update of what really happened (since all of this info has largely been unclassified since). After the fall of the USSR it was revealed that, according to Wikipedia, that the USSR did in fact violate a biological weapons ban and produce Anthrax like many suspected, and the whole ordeal was caused by a miscommunication between workers in said weapons facility rendering a vent system offline for a few days allowing anthrax to escape unfiltered into the town. Now the whole ordeal is called “Biological Chernobyl” and is pretty infamous.
Some of the stories are a bit “tainted”, I suppose, with American Cold War era propaganda, as many Soviet “characters” are described in a less than flattering manner. In many instances, the reader is presented with the narrative that The USSR was always up to no good as if populated entirely by mustache twirling Bond Villains, or reactionary morons that were only trying to protect themselves in the face of disaster. while this wasn’t too over-the-top, it colored an otherwise well-done book. He does go to great length to talk-up the heroism and toughness of many everyday Russians in an almost “noble savage” sort of way, leaving you to admire their resolve. If anything, I REALLY wish there was a later edition of this where Oberg went back and updated everything, but alas the entire book would have to be basically re-written, and he is now in his 70’s.
All-in-all this is a good read despite the age and political motivation. I will need to look into reading more of Mr. Oberg’s work.
November 10, 2009
This book is torn between two different goals, neither of which is quite fully realized: it slides uneasily between being a history of Soviet disasters, and a history of Soviet media responses to disasters.
Oberg was writing in the late 1980s, just as the first wave of disclosures was making it possible to speak with some confidence about Soviet disasters. I really wish there were a later edition, post-USSR, so he could compare early Soviet reports, not only with later reports, but with something approaching the truth.
Oberg was writing in the late 1980s, just as the first wave of disclosures was making it possible to speak with some confidence about Soviet disasters. I really wish there were a later edition, post-USSR, so he could compare early Soviet reports, not only with later reports, but with something approaching the truth.
February 13, 2017
Most interesting, and now that the Soviet Union is dissolved, some of these incidents I've seen documentaries on.
June 13, 2013
Fascinating overview of the limitations of glasnost and the consequences of a socialist and police state on world affairs and the USSR's own people.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews