After Newspeak: Language Culture and Politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin PDF
Preview After Newspeak: Language Culture and Politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin
A N FTER EWSPEAK A N FTER EWSPEAK Language Culture and Politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin Michael S. Gorham Cornell University Press Ithaca and London Copyright © 2014 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2014 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2014 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gorham, Michael S., author. After Newspeak : language, culture and politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin / Michael S. Gorham. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8014-5262-8 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8014-7926-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Language policy—Russia (Federation) I. Title. P119.32.R8G667 2014 306.44'947—dc23 2013038096 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fi bers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Natalie Peter Gorham (1935–2005) Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii Note on Transliteration and Translations xvii Introduction: Ideologies, Economies, and Technologies of Language 1 1. The Soviet Legacy: From Political to Cultural Correctness 25 2. Glasnost Unleashed: Language Ideologies in the Gorbachev Revolution 48 3. Economies of Profanity: Free Speech and Varieties of Language Degradation 75 4. In Defense of the National Tongue: Guardians, Legislators, and Monitors of the Norm 98 5. Taking the Offensive: Language Culture and Policy under Putin 131 viii Contents 6. “Cyber Curtain” or Glasnost 2.0? Strategies for Web-based Communication in the New Media Age 166 Conclusion 192 Appendix: Sayings and Proverbs about Language 199 Works Cited 203 Index 227 Preface If members of the sixth convocation of Russia’s lower house of parlia- ment, the State Duma, were at all chastened by the wave of protests that followed their contested election in December 2011, one could hardly tell, judging by the raft of new legislation they proposed in the fi rst year of their new term. Draft laws restricting the consumption of tobacco and alcohol, prohibiting the defamation of the Russian Orthodox Church, banning the propagandizing of homosexual activity, applying the Soviet-era label of “foreign agent” to NGOs that received funds from outside of Russia, au- thorizing the creation of “black lists” of Internet sites promoting drugs, suicide, and child pornography, and banning Americans from adopting Russian orphans—to list just a few—all came before the legislative body and were approved with minimal debate. As a result of the extraordinary productivity, critics nicknamed the Duma “the out-of-control printer” ( vzbesivshiisia printer). Tucked among the proposals were draft amendments to an existing law “On the State Language,” which, if approved, would impose fi nes for the
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