Doctor Zhivago: The Novel That Embarrassed The Soviet Union

Here’s proof that sometimes, the pen is truly mightier than the sword. During the height of the Cold War, the United States found a way to weaponize the novel Doctor Zhivago against the Russians. Written by poet Boris Pasternak, it was banned in the Soviet Union due to its stance on the October Revolution.

As a declassified CIA memo revealed, the book had “great propaganda value.” And so, the United States supported its distribution to Soviet citizens. The book garnered fame and its author even a Nobel Prize, much to the Russians’ embarrassment. It also spawned a film of the same title that won five Oscars in the ‘60s.