How Russia Learned to Talk - A History of Public Speaking in the Stenographic Age, 1860-1930

How Russia Learned to Talk offers an entirely new perspective on Russian political culture, showing the era from Alexander II's Great Reforms to early Stalinism as a single 'stenographic age', with all of Russia's rulers, whether tsars or Bolsheviks, grappling with the challenges and opportunities of mass politics and modern communications.

List of contents

• Introduction: Talking as History


• 1: Glasnost' in Practice: Public Speaking in the Reform Era, 1856-1867


• 2: Trials and Tribulations: The Long 1870s, 1867-1881


• 3: Small Deeds and Muffled Voices: The Age of Counter-Reform, 1881-1895


• 4: The Rise of Political Speech, 1895-1905


• 5: Public Speaking in the Age of the State Duma


• 6: Revolutionary Talk, 1917-1918


• 7: Soviet Talk


• Epilogue


• Bibliography

About the author

Stephen Lovell is Professor of Modern History at King's College London. His previous books include the prize-winning Summerfolk: A History of the Dacha, 1710-2000 (2003) and Russia in the Microphone Age: A History of Soviet Radio, 1919-1970 (2015).

Summary

How Russia Learned to Talk offers an entirely new perspective on Russian political culture, showing the era from Alexander II's Great Reforms to early Stalinism as a single 'stenographic age', with all of Russia's rulers, whether tsars or Bolsheviks, grappling with the challenges and opportunities of mass politics and modern communications.

Additional text

Stephen Lovell masterfully shows how the forms of public talk changed in the longue durée. Moreover, he manages to give short biographical sketches of dozens of protagonists of his story.

Product details

• Authors: Stephen Lovell, Stephen (Professor of Modern History Lovell, Lovell Stephen
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 13.03.2020
• EAN: 9780199546428
• ISBN: 978-0-19-954642-8
• No. of pages: 340
• Series: Oxford Studies in Modern European History
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Modern era up to 1918; Media Studies, European History, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Modern / 19th Century, c 1800 to c 1900, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, Politics & government, Social and cultural history, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Politics and government, c 1914 to c 1918 (including WW1), c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe), USSR, Soviet Union, C 1900 - C 1914, c 1900 to c 1909, c 1914 to c 1918 (World War One period), HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General