Freedom Of Speech In Russia: Politics And Media From Gorbachev To Putin (basees/routledge Series On Russian And East European Studies)
by Daphne Skillen /
2017 / English / PDF
2.7 MB Download
This book traces the life of free speech in Russia from the final
years of the Soviet Union to the present. It shows how
long-cherished hopes for an open society in which people would
speak freely and tell truth to power fared under Gorbachev’s
glasnost; how free speech was a real, if fractured, achievement
of Yeltsin’s years in power; and how easy it was for Putin to
reverse these newly won freedoms, imposing a ‘patrimonial’ media
that sits comfortably with old autocratic and feudal traditions.
The book explores why this turn seemed so inexorable and now
seems so entrenched. It examines the historical legacy, and
Russia’s culturally ambivalent perception of freedom, which
Dostoyevsky called that ‘terrible gift’. It evaluates the allure
of western consumerism and Soviet-era illusions that stunted the
initial promise of freedom and democracy. The behaviour of
journalists and their apparent complicity in the distortion of
their profession come under scrutiny. This ambitious study
covering more than 30 years of radical change looks at responses
‘from above’ and ‘from below’, and asks whether the players truly
understood what was involved in the practice of free speech.
This book traces the life of free speech in Russia from the final
years of the Soviet Union to the present. It shows how
long-cherished hopes for an open society in which people would
speak freely and tell truth to power fared under Gorbachev’s
glasnost; how free speech was a real, if fractured, achievement
of Yeltsin’s years in power; and how easy it was for Putin to
reverse these newly won freedoms, imposing a ‘patrimonial’ media
that sits comfortably with old autocratic and feudal traditions.
The book explores why this turn seemed so inexorable and now
seems so entrenched. It examines the historical legacy, and
Russia’s culturally ambivalent perception of freedom, which
Dostoyevsky called that ‘terrible gift’. It evaluates the allure
of western consumerism and Soviet-era illusions that stunted the
initial promise of freedom and democracy. The behaviour of
journalists and their apparent complicity in the distortion of
their profession come under scrutiny. This ambitious study
covering more than 30 years of radical change looks at responses
‘from above’ and ‘from below’, and asks whether the players truly
understood what was involved in the practice of free speech.
