Unlearning the Soviet tongue : discursive practices of a democratizing polity /

Kovalyova (communication, Univ. of North Texas at Dallas) examines the elite (editorialists) and lay voices (ordinary citizens) that contribute to the public conversation in Russia. Premised on the assumption that the Russian public forums represent sites for learning democracy and for turning readers into responsible citizens, the volume argues that the democratic contribution of the printed press is undermined by cynical messages from editorialists who imagine the Russian public as bystanders to politics as a self-interested game of crooks. The focus of this analysis is 1996-2008, the formative years of the new Russian state and a time of general decline. After briefly summarizing the social and political changes in post-Soviet Russia and presenting a history of Soviet newspapers, chapters 3 through 5 detail the voices of ordinary Russians and elites. Kovalyova then ascertains the public concern and cynicism that these voices reflect. By doing so, she identifies the sources of engagement and disengagement through the media. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, graduate students, and research faculty. --Lavinia Stan, St. Francis Xavier University