ce, Aksyonov accomplishes a critique of Soviet culture and--even more important--the Western European intellectual filter through which so much Soviet perception of America passes. Aksyonov's point of departure is the multiple ways in which Western European intellectuals make a project of hating America. For his part, Aksyonov well remembers the mythic images that Soviet intellectuals and dissidents constructed of American popular culture during the Cold War. His intention to correct the fallacies of such a project becomes clear early on. That is in t
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