Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration and Translations Introduction: Ideologies, Economies, and Technologies of Language 1. The Soviet Legacy: From Political to Cultural Correctness 2. Glasnost Unleashed: Language Ideologies in the Gorbachev Revolution 3. Economies of Profanity: Free Speech and Varieties of Language Degradation 4. In Defense of the National Tongue: Guardians, Legislators, and Monitors of the Norm 5. Taking the Offensive: Language Culture and Policy under Putin 6. "Cyber Curtain" or Glasnost 2.0? Strategies for Web-based Communication in the New Media Age Conclusion Appendix: Sayings and Proverbs about Language

About the Author

Michael S. Gorham is Associate Professor of Russian in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Florida. He is the author of Speaking in Soviet Tongues: Language Culture and the Politics of Voice in Revolutionary Russia and coeditor of Digital Russia: The Language, Culture, and Politics of New Media Communication.

Reviews

"In this book Gorham decided to survey a very dynamic and unstable period of Russian contemporary history that has not yet been studied from the perspective of language culture... Gorham's innovative work, referring to numerous historical and socio-political contexts, not only enables a better undestanding of the last 25 years of the Russian Federation, but also offers a new perspective on the interrelation between language, culture, and politics."-Magda Dolinska-Rydzek, Europe-Asia Studies (June 2015) "There are very few books analyzing post-Soviet culture from the perspective of politics and vice versa. Michael Gorham's second monograph belongs to this rare and highly valuable breed, as it embraces the period from Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost to the anti-Putin protests of 2011-12. Michael Gorham has written a highly necessary book establishing a new approach to post-Soviet politics through the study of competition between language ideologies and rhetorical models warring for political prominence. Written in a highly accessible manner and rich with unique factual material, it should become an essential part of diverse courses on post-Soviet culture, language, and politics on both the undergraduate and graduate levels."-Mark Lipovetsky, Slavic Review(vol. 74, no. 4) "After Newspeak productively combines language theory and a wealth of sources-from TV to paper journalism, political speeches to blogs-to advance an original argument that covers more than three decades of Russian culture. Michael S. Gorham's impressively meticulous and wide-ranging scholarship and consistently analytical treatment of the material persuasively demonstrates the interplay among language, identity, and politics. Rich in content and sophisticated in its conceptualization, this book should engage not only Slavists, but also anyone invested in understanding the power of language."-Helena Goscilo, The Ohio State University, author of Dehexing Sex: Russian Womanhood During and After Glasnost "After Newspeak is a great book that gives tremendous insight into Russia's political culture, and it is a sheer delight to read."-Eliot Borenstein, New York University, author of Overkill: Sex and Violence in Contemporary Russian Popular Culture "This fascinating book offers a sweeping analysis of Russia's changing 'language culture' in the past several decades, from the politics of language use and debates over language norms to the role Russian language plays in national identity, political culture, and international relations. But this is more than a book about language culture. From the stagnant discourse of post-Stalinist Soviet Union to the exciting linguistic openness of Gorbachev's perestroika, from the violent linguistic experimentation of the first post-Soviet decade to the authoritative linguistic grip and chaotic online utopia of Putin's years, this book provides an extraordinary perspective on Russia's cultural and political history."-Alexei Yurchak, University of California, Berkeley, author of Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation