The Culture of Samizdat: Literature and Underground Networks in the Late Soviet Union (Library of Modern Russia)

Winner of the 2022 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles Samizdat, the production and circulation of texts outside official channels, was an integral part of life in the final decades of the Soviet Union. But as Josephine von Zitzewitz explains, while much is known about the texts themselves, little is available on the complex communities and cultures that existed around them due to their necessarily secretive, and sometimes dissident, nature. By analysing the behaviours of different actors involved in Samizdat – readers, typists, librarians and the editors of periodicals in 1970s Leningrad, The Culture of Samizdat fills this lacuna in Soviet history scholarship. Crucially, as well as providing new insight into Samizdat texts, the book makes use of oral and written testimonies to examine the role of Samizdat activists and employs an interdisciplinary theoretical approach drawing on both the sociology of reading and book history. In doing so, von Zitzewitz uncovers the importance of 'middlemen' for Samizdat culture. Diligently researched and engagingly written, this book will be of great value to scholars of Soviet cultural history and Russian literary studies alike. "By analysing the periodicals produced in late Soviet Leningrad, The Culture of Samizdat makes use of oral and written testimonies to examine the role of Samizdat activists in late Soviet Russia. Crucially, as well as providing new insight into Samizdat texts, the book employs an interdisciplinary theoretical approach which draws on both the sociology of reading and book history. In doing so, von Zitzewitz uncovers the importance of 'middlemen' - including editors, readers and typists - in the Samizdat subculture"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half title Library of Modern Russia Title Copyright Contents List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements Note on the text Introduction 1 Samizdat: A culture of readers and networks 2 Readers: An online survey for samizdat readers 3 Manufacturers: Samizdat typists 4 Collectors: Samizdat libraries 5 Patrons: Samizdat journal editors 6 Institutions: Literary samizdat and official culture Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Introduction -- Samizdat: A Culture of Readers and Networks -- Readers: An Online Survey for Samizdat Readers -- Manufacturists: Samizdat Typists -- Collectors: Samizdat Libraries -- Patrons: Samizdat Journal Editors -- Institutions: Literary Samizdat and Official Culture -- Conclusion