75-12-B3
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Samizdat
TranscriptThere's an underground network of uncensored writing coming out of the Soviet Union and the kremlin doesn't like it a bit. I'll be right back. Samizdat is a Russian word meaning self-publishers and it represents a tiny but potent voice of opposition to the Soviet Union's repression of its citizens. Modern day Soviet dissidents coined the phrase for a practice they've picked up from the days of Tsarist censorship. They use it to circumvent the efficient Soviet censorship system. It involves circulating uncensored material privately usually in the form of manuscripts. The material ranges from poetry to trial proceedings and includes memoirs, historical accounts, fiction, protest statements, and news accounts of the increasingly harsh treatment the Soviet government accords its political prisoners. Some of this material makes its way out of the Soviet Union and thanks to the work of an energetic California woman, Olga Stacevich, it is seeing the light of day. Mrs. Stacevich and her husband edit the Samizdat Bulletin, which is a collection of smuggled samizdat material. The Soviet government which can't tolerate free speech, or any other form of dissidence for that matter, doesn't take the samizdat lightly. In his recent book "Samizdat: The Voices of the Soviet Opposition," George Saunders says quote "the struggle in the Soviet Union in recent years has been centered around samizdat to a great extent. Most of the trials have been aimed at intimidating dissidents involved in producing or circulation of uncensored literature. The most prominent figures among the oppositionists have relied on the samizdat network in their battle for free speech, freedom of the press, and basic democratic rights." Unquote. Since 1973 Mrs. Stacevich and her husband have published 21 editions of the Samizdat Bulletin. They've worked as volunteers in the project which is non-profit and they've had to do it on a shoestring. The bulletins make fascinating, and sometimes chilling, reading. Among the writings from the Soviet Union that they've brought to light is a portion of a diary covering a month-long strike of political prisoners in a concentration camp, there's a letter from political prisoners detailing their conditions, little food, little warm clothing, no visits from relatives and no correspondence permitted. And there's an open letter to Senator Henry Jackson from Russian scientist V.P. Turchin entitled the Soviet system is in dire need of evolution. The Samizdat Bulletin is a beacon of light for those in the U.S.S.R. who share our love for human freedom. If you'd like to subscribe and thereby help spread the words of these gallant Soviet writers, drop me a line here at the station and I'll forward it to Mrs. Stacevich. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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