Peter Pomerantsev

From salivating dogs to mass indoctrination: Pavlov’s sinister legacy

Joel E. Dimsdale describes the refinement of thought-manipulation over the past century, as rival ideologies competed for control of the mind

Pavlov with members of his staff and one the dogs he experimented on. [Getty Images] 
issue 25 September 2021

When two post-Soviet supermodels committed suicide in the noughties, both throwing themselves off high buildings in New York and Kiev, the trail into what made them so depressed led to a ‘personality development’ organisation in Moscow that offered ‘trainings’ that would help ‘find your truer self’.

The moment you entered the dark Stalinist gothic theatre, filled with dozens of other ‘students’, you were under the control of the ‘life coach’.

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