On the Waves of a Pulsating World : an Engineer's Adventures in Innovation, Education and Politics : from Russia to the West

Vladimir Babitsky was born before the Second World War and migrated West after Perestroika. The theory of vibro-impact systems that he developed helped create the world’s safest jackhammer and other record-breaking machines. The author has lived through a series of fascinating epochs: experiencing life under totalitarianism, witnessing the Soviet Union’s collapse, and then migrating to Europe as a specialist in his field. “On the Waves of a Pulsating World” is an animated and highly engaging story about the journey of an engineer; from childhood daydreams to creating new technologies, from East to West, and from concepts to realities. It is also the story of people who outshine authoritarianism. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv The Documents That Did Not Burn (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 1-13 A Kinship with Pushkin (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 15-19 Teachers in Bravery (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 21-23 The Waiting Hall (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 25-29 Adventures at the Edge of Civilisation (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 31-41 Football and Mechanics (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 43-45 An Engineers’ Engineer (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 47-50 A Series of Secret Doors (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 51-58 Chronicles of MARS During Perestroika (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 59-77 A Breath of Free Air (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 79-82 See the Promised Land and Die (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 83-89 The Conscience of a Nation (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 91-95 The Eighth Liberal Art (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 97-117 Dynamics Should Be Sexy (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 119-123 A Lesson in Democracy (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 125-133 The Constant Muse (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 135-141 A Genius of Faultless Beauty (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 143-157 I Want to Tell You About the Ones Who Overcame (Vladimir Babitsky)....Pages 159-160