The Thaw

About “The Thaw”

The Thaw is a short novel by Ilya Ehrenburg, first published in the spring 1954 issue of Novy Mir. The book introduced the term "Khrushchev Thaw," referring to the period of liberalization that followed the death of Stalin in 1953. It represented a shift for Ehrenburg, as it marked a departure from his earlier works that were strictly pro-Soviet, as well as from traditional ideas about socialist realism. The novel reflected changing attitudes in Soviet society during this time. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)