Facts and Figures
- Boris Pasternak's novel DOCTOR ZHIVAGO was denied publication by the Soviet state, due to its implied criticism of Stalinism. In 1957 it was smuggled abroad and printed in Italy. To the outrage of the Kremlin, it became an instant sensation.
- Boris Pasternak was named the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958. However, he was forced to decline under intense pressure from the Soviet authorities who threatened to expel him. For Pasternak this was unthinkable, as he claimed that 'leaving the motherland will equal death for me'.
- DOCTOR ZHIVAGO wasn't published in the author's homeland until 1988 –
although had been in circulation in the black market for years. - The first film version of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO was a 1959 Brazilian television film.
- The most famous treatment is the Oscar winning 1965 film adaptation by David Lean, Omar Sharif as Zhivago and Julie Christie as Lara, as well Geraldine Chaplin
in the role of Tonia and Alec Guinness as Yevgraf. - The film remained popular for decades, and as of 2010 was
the eighth highest grossing film of all time.