This book traces the life of free speech in Russia from the final
years of the Soviet Union to the present. It shows how
long-cherished hopes for an open society in which people would
speak freely and tell truth to power fared under Gorbachev's
glasnost; how free speech was a real, if fractured, achievement of
Yeltsin's years in power; and how easy it was for Putin to reverse
these newly won freedoms, imposing a 'patrimonial' media that sits
comfortably with old autocratic and feudal traditions. The book
explores why this turn seemed so inexorable and now seems so
entrenched. It examines the historical legacy, and Russia's
culturally ambivalent perception of freedom, which Dostoyevsky
called that 'terrible gift'. It evaluates the allure of western
consumerism and Soviet-era illusions that stunted the initial
promise of freedom and democracy. The behaviour of journalists and
their apparent complicity in the distortion of their profession
come under scrutiny. This ambitious study covering more than 30
years of radical change looks at responses 'from above' and 'from
below', and asks whether the players truly understood what was
involved in the practice of free speech.
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