Alternative periodicals of the 1987-1991:

Samizdat of the publicity epoch

This course is devoted to the unique phenomenon in a political history of Russia of last decades of XX century – to the alternative periodicals.

Its origin dates to the beginning of perestroika and publicity in Soviet Union.

.

The alternative periodicals

one hand have continued traditions of the underground samizdat 1960-70;

on the other hand - became the beginning of new, independent press of Russia.

In the first years of 90-s it became the mass phenomenon in the USSR

and exerted essential influence on political events in the country:

including disintegration of the USSR,

the constitutional reform,

the process of development of the Russian multi-party system and parliamentarism.

The absence of researchers' consensus on questions of terminology and chronological limits of origin and existence of alternative periodicals is the bright confirmation of necessity of studying of this problem.

Now this phenomenon has the whole set of different names:

"the Alternative press", "New samizdat", "the Informal press", "Quasilegitimate press", "the Nontraditional press“,

etc.

The alternative periodicals issued by the representatives of the informal groups and associations became the first editions, which have broken traditional monopoly of the CPSU on censorship of periodicals.

Authors and founders of such editions, which are more often named "new samizdat", unofficially consider August, 1, 1987 - date of publication of the first number of the human rights bulletin "Express-chronicle" as the birthday of the independent press.

"Express-chronicle" was not the first edition of "new samizdat", but its appearance directly provoked the relative stabilization of such phenomenon as periodicals of the new political and public associations.

Participants of these events emphasized the connection of such periodicals with samizdat of the 60-s - first half of 80-s in the USSR.

Many of them, for example, S.Grigor'jants ("Glasnost'"), A.Podrabinek ("Express-chronicle"), L.Volohonsky ("Newsletter of IА SМОТ") actively participated in issuing of dissident editions.

The structure of the "Express-chronicle" bulletin partly repeated the structure of the well-known human rights bulletin of 60-70-s: "Chronicles of the current events".

As it was in the times of samizdat, in 1987-1988 some editions were distributed

free-of-charge.

However, very soon on pages of such editions the following message began to appear: "The newspaper or magazine is distributed in exchange for donations", and some time after there were indicated the concrete sums of donations.

The second characteristic feature of the "new samizdat", which made it closer to its' classical variant, was uncontrollable

replication of the periodicals.

In Moscow, besides private persons, in the process of reprinting and x-copying of independent editions there also actively participated the Moscow bureau of information exchange, the Moscow independent public library etc.

From the second half of 1988 the editions of peoples' fronts in Russian language from Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian Soviet Socialist Republics (first of all - "Atmoda" and "Vozrozhdenie (Revival)", were distributed practically on all the USSR

territory.

By 1989 the numerous editions under the motto of people's fronts of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia: "For our and your freedom!" began to appear in the other regions of the USSR. The most well-known of them was the newspaper of the party "Democratic Union" (DS).

By the estimate of experts, in 1987-1991 on the territory of the USSR there were more than

1000 editions of political orientation in Russian language.

For the Soviet and Russian press it is one of the most unique periods.

The book «Alternative periodicals in the history of the Russian multi-party system»

ends with the events of 1996, when the first presidential elections of the Russian Federation under the new Constitution of the country took place.

But since 1992 there begins the process of transformation of the «new samizdat» into the press of the new political organizations.

Therefore, during the preparation of the special course the period of existence of the USSR was allocated as a separate theme.

The special course "Alternative periodicals of Russia (1987-91)"

is designed for the 4 thematic blocks

including 12 lectures.

1. Problems of research

  1.1. Archives, libraries and the other sources of

information.

1.2. The basic problems of studying (terminology, chronological limits).

1.3. Gorbatchev's perestroika (reorganization) and its influence on transformation of the samizdat.

2. Bulletins of public clubs (1987-1988)

2.1. Bulletins of democratic public clubs (1987-1998).

2.2. Editions of patriotic and communistic associations.

2.3. A role of this editions in public life of the country.

 

3. Editions of the first political organizations (1989 – March, 1990)

  3.1 The Democratic Union.

3.2 Editions of republican people's fronts.

3.3. Alternative periodicals at the elections of 1989-90.

4. Alternative periodicals at the last stage of existence of the USSR

4.1 Newspapers of political associations of democratic direction .

4.2. Editions of communistic and patriotic opposition.

4.3. Disintegration of the USSR and formation of the Russian independent press.