Il dottor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago was published for the first time ever in 1957 in Italy by Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. In order to be read in the Soviet Union, the great novel will have to wait over thirty years. Behind the editorial events of this masterpiece lies a dark history studded with twists and turns, maneuvers hatched by occult powers and intelligence agencies like CIA and KGB, and intrigues matured in the shadow of the Cold War. In this essay, based on archival sources and unpublished documents, the “Zhivago file” is reconstructed in great detail, showing the many ambiguities and giving answers to unsolved questions.