Just the Plague

Just the Plague by Ludmila Ulitskaya tells the story of Rudolf Maier, a young microbiologist who is working on a plague vaccine. Summoned to Moscow to deliver a progress report to his superiors, he inadvertently carries the virus with him from the lab. Upon the discovery of his illness, the state machinery responds with terrifying efficiency, rounding up dozens of people.

For many, the line between this enforced, life-sparing isolation and the constant churn of political surveillance and arrests is barely detectable, leading to personal tragedy that is not completely averted.

Set in the Stalinist Russia of the 1930s and based on real events, this gripping novel was written in the late 1970s and rediscovered by the author during lockdown. Never before translated into English, it surfaces uncomfortable truths about the current Russian regime and the pandemic crisis.

Includes a new preface by the author.