RECORDING: Book at Lunchtime: Revolution Rekindled

On Wednesday 5th February, Professor Polly Jones, in conversation with Professor Ann Jefferson, Dr Katherine Lebow, and Professor Stephen Lovell discussed her recent book, Revolution Rekindled: The Writers and Readers of Late Soviet Biography.

Polly Jones offers the first ever archival and oral history study of Brezhnev-era publishing and propaganda production, highlighting the consistent pressure throughout late socialism to find new forms of propaganda and inspiring 'revolutionary' narratives, and challenges the widespread idea that these became 'standardised' and 'stagnant' soon after Stalin's death. Jones reveals the vitality and popularity of late Soviet culture, especially biography and historical fiction. She emphasises that both writers and readers found in late Soviet 'official' publishing opportunities to reflect on complex questions of Russian and Soviet history and identity and employs extensive new archival material, and oral history interviews with some of the leading literary and cultural figures of the Brezhnev era.

 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/y0yR6MPSvV4