The Culture of Samizdat: Literature and Underground Networks in the Late Soviet Union

The Culture of Samizdat is a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title that explores the complex communities and cultures surrounding Samizdat, the production and circulation of texts outside official channels in the Soviet Union. It uses oral and written testimonies and an interdisciplinary theoretical approach to examine the role of Samizdat activists and the importance of 'middlemen for Samizdat culture'.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 262 pages
Publication date: 19 May 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Samizdat, the production and circulation of texts outside official channels, played a significant role in Soviet Union life in the final decades. However, little is known about the complex communities and cultures that existed around them due to their secretive and dissident nature. Josephine von Zitzewitz's book, The Culture of Samizdat, fills this lacuna in Soviet history scholarship by analysing the behaviours of different actors involved in Samizdat in 1970s Leningrad. The book provides new insight into Samizdat texts and examines the role of Samizdat activists using oral and written testimonies and an interdisciplinary theoretical approach drawing on the sociology of reading and book history. Von Zitzewitz uncovers the importance of 'middlemen for Samizdat culture' and provides valuable insights into Soviet cultural history and Russian literary studies.

Weight: 410g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350229310