In Soviet history, the period known as the “Thaw” was a time characterized by post-Stalin liberalization programs. During the Thaw, many programs of the Stalinist era were repealed in a fluctuating method. Under the reign of Kruschev, the Soviet Union began to reorganize in order to catch up with the new developments in western countries. Before the Thaw, Science Fiction literature had been hindered by two key restrictions from the Stalin years: the repression of dissident literature, and the anti-western approach to science. One of the first things Stalin ever did was try to reign in the writers of the USSR, as literature was the primary method of communication in the country due to the lack of a mass media. Furthermore, while Stalin was in charge, many scientific advancements, such as “quantum physics, relativity, cybernetics, and genetics.. [were] proscribed… as ‘bourgeois science,’” (Csicsery-Ronay 337) and thus were not officially allowed to be looked into by Soviet scientists. The expansion of scientific research into exciting new fields following the death of Stalin, therefore, inspired a new generation of science fiction writers with ideas of new possibilities. This new period of increased freedoms during the Thaw was reflected in the advancements of the Science Fiction of the period. For instance, many of the writers of the Thaw period had been scientists, so their works would reflect the mood held by soviet scientists during de-stalinization. The works also reflected changes in the state’s grasp on the cultural output of the nation. No longer were the writers expected to remain in the limits of Socialist Realism; now they could offer new visions of the future that did not coincide with the official doctrine of Marxist-Leninism. Writers in this period were also able to have an effect on the actual policy of the party, as Kruschev regularly joined in discussion with writers’ union, “not as a distant authority (and certainly not as a connoisseur of literature), but as a debating partner” (Cscicsery-Ronay 342). The reverence and respect shown to the position of writers in soviet society, even before the thaw, is reflected in the position of Science Fiction literature in this time period. The authors being seen as legitimate threats just goes to show this importance literature had, and how science fiction was sometimes used in the soviet union as a popular form of rebellion against the doctrines guiding society.