Spaces of Samizdat Sociality

This chapter surveys the alternative public sphere as a set of imagined social spaces created and reflected by the samizdat texts that circulate within it. Taylor described the modern concept of the “public sphere” as a “kind of space of discussion.”¹ This chapter explores the spatial side of the samizdat chronotope from this theoretical angle to treat the variety of “spaces” created by such texts to accommodate discussion of topics not appearing in official Soviet print or not adequately addressed there. The role of media in creating the space of public discussion is key: as we saw earlier, theorists have