Russia in the Microphone Age: A History of Soviet Radio, 1919-1970

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Stephen Lovell (Professor of Modern History, Professor of Modern History, King's College London)

Russia in the Microphone Age

A History of Soviet Radio, 1919-1970

Stephen Lovell (Professor of Modern History, Professor of Modern History, King's College London)

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English

Oxford University Press
15 September 2015

European history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Social & cultural history; Radio & television industry

Series: Oxford Studies in Modern European History

The story of radio begins alongside that of the Soviet state: Russia's first long-range transmission of the human voice occurred in 1919, during the civil war. Sound broadcasting was a medium of exceptional promise for this revolutionary regime. It could bring the Bolsheviks' message to the furthest corners of their enormous country. It had unprecedented impact: the voice of Moscow could now be wired into the very workplaces and living spaces of a population that was still only weakly literate.

The liveness and immediacy of broadcasting also created vivid new ways of communicating 'Sovietness' - whether through May Day parades and elections, the exploits of aviators and explorers, or show trials and public criticism. Yet, in the USSR as elsewhere, broadcasting was a medium in flux: technology, the broadcasting profession, and the listening audience were never static. Soviet radio was quickly earmarked as the mouthpiece of Soviet power, yet its history is also full of unintended consequences. The supreme irony of Soviet 'radiofication' was that its greatest triumph - the expansion of the wireless-listening public in the Cold War era - made possible its greatest failure, by turning a part of the Soviet audience into devotees of Western broadcasting.

Based on substantial original research in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Nizhnii Novgorod, Russia in the Microphone Age is the first full history of Soviet radio in English. In addition to the institutional and technological dimensions of the subject, it explores the development of programme content and broadcasting genres. It also goes in search of the mysterious figure of the Soviet listener. The result is a pioneering treatment of broadcasting as an integral part of Soviet culture from its early days in the 1920s until the dawn of the television age.

By: Stephen Lovell (Professor of Modern History Professor of Modern History King's College London)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 241mm, Width: 163mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780198725268
ISBN 10: 0198725264
Series: Oxford Studies in Modern European History
Pages: 250
Publication Date: 15 September 2015
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Glossary Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction: Why Radio? 1: Institutionalizing Soviet Radio 2: Radio and the Making of Soviet Society 3: How Russia Learned to Broadcast 4: Mobilizing Radio: The War 5: From Wire to Efir 6: The Magnitofon and the Art of Soviet Broadcasting 7: Radio Genres and Their Audiences in the Postwar Era Epilogue Note on Sources Bibliography Index

Stephen Lovell is Professor of Modern History at King's College London. His books include The Soviet Union: A Very Short Introduction (2009) and The Shadow of War: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1941 to the Present (2010).

Reviews for Russia in the Microphone Age: A History of Soviet Radio, 1919-1970

Scholars with a particular interest in Soviet history will certainly want to check out this monograph, and radio historians with a particular interest in regulations or questions of aesthetics will also find this book of value. * Noah Arceneaux, History * The research for this book is nothing short of astounding in its thoroughness and thoughtfulness ... The book, then, is a model of its genre - a monograph on the social and cultural history of a technology that was also an art form. It should be read by all, especially students of Soviet history. * Lewis H. Siegelbaum, American Historical Review * utterly fascinating * David Harris, Communication (Journal of BDXC): Radio Books of the Year 2016 * Lovell usefully illuminates aspects of Soviet intellectual life ... engrossing * Dr Allan Jones, Reviews in History * This meticulous, perceptive study shows off its author's unusual strengths as a historian equally at home in the Politburo, the communal flat, and the offices of literary journals. The combination turns out to be vital for an understanding of Soviet radio, which was not only a political tool of the first order, but also a major cultural institution with a profound impact on Soviet life ... Lovell's book is rich in detail and keenly analytical. * Kristin Roth-Ey, Times Literary Supplement * Detailed and comprehensively-researched study * Slavic Review *