In conjunction with the centenary of the Russian revolution of 1905, an international conference, "Jews and Russian Revolutions," is being held at Stanford during November 6-7, 2005.

In twentieth-century Russian literature Boris Pasternak stands out as a great metaphysical poet, as evidenced by his verse collection My Sister, Life, written during the revolutionary years.

Writing and violence, seduction and revolution, humanity and raw power are at the core of the spare and brilliant legacy of Isaac Babel, a Russian Jewish master of the short story, who began his career with the blessing of Maxim Gorky in 1916, rose to international renown with the publication of his Red Cavalry in 1926, and perished after Stalin waved his executioner’s wand in 1940.

American philosopher Sidney Hook, an outspoken participant in many of the principal political debates of this century, was best known for his vigorous defense of political and academic freedom and his stand against totalitarianism in all forms.

This exhibit, which was researched and prepared by students in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric, an undergraduate writing program at Stanford, seeks to connect the theories of social philosopher Eric Hoffer with real-world movements, using materials from the Hoover Institution Archives.

The exhibit Remembering Joseph Brodsky: 1940–1996 continues in the Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion. It includes books (many of which are special editions), manuscripts, and photographs, some never before published.

At the core of this exhibit are the many unpublished letters that poet and novelist Boris Pasternak wrote to various family members during the 1920's and 1930s, a collection recently acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives. Portrait: Pasternak in the 1920's Many of the ideas expressed in these letters were later incorporated into passages of Dr. Zhivago. In addition to letters are rare editions of his poetry, so loved that they were copied by hand and passed from friend to friend when publication was difficult; sketchbooks of his father, Leonid Pasternak, the well-known Russian impressionist painter; and other materials from the rich cultural life of Russian émigrés of the period.