The story of radio begins alongside that of the Soviet state: Russia's first long-range transmission of the human voice occurred in 1919, during the civil war. Sound broadcasting was a medium of exceptional promise for this revolutionary regime. It could bring the Bolsheviks' message to the furthest corners of their enormous country. It had unprecedented impact: the voice of Moscow could now be wired into the very workplaces and living spaces of a population that was still only weakly literate. The liveness and immediacy of broadcasting also created vivid new ways of communicating 'Sovietness' - whether through May Day parades and elections, the exploits of aviators and explorers, or show trials and public criticism. Yet, in the USSR as elsewhere, broadcasting was a medium in flux: technology, the broadcasting profession, and the listening audience were never static. Soviet radio was quickly earmarked as the mouthpiece of Soviet power, yet its history is also full of unintended consequences. The supreme irony of Soviet 'radiofication' was that its greatest triumph - the expansion of the wireless-listening public in the Cold War era - made possible its greatest failure, by turning a part of the Soviet audience into devotees of Western broadcasting. Based on substantial original research in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Nizhnii Novgorod, Russia in the Microphone Age is the first full history of Soviet radio in English. In addition to the institutional and technological dimensions of the subject, it explores the development of programme content and broadcasting genres. It also goes in search of the mysterious figure of the Soviet listener. The result is a pioneering treatment of broadcasting as an integral part of Soviet culture from its early days in the 1920s until the dawn of the television age.

About the Author
Stephen Lovell is Professor of Modern History at King's College London. His books include The Soviet Union: A Very Short Introduction (2009) and The Shadow of War: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1941 to the Present (2010).

Reviews
In this outstanding new history, Stephen Lovell traces the rise of Soviet radio and, with it, Soviet modes of listening....Lovell's book has much to recommend it. Its temporal scope allows him to trace the evolution of radio from the Stalinist to the Brezhnev era and to study its changing significance within Soviet culture....Russia in the Microphone Agewill now be the definitive volume on the subject, and one hopes it will lead to further case studies. It should be read by anyone interested in media history or the history of radio, but it also has much to tell about the history of the Soviet project and, with it, the history of the twentieth century. * Stephen M. Norris, Journal of Modern History *
Detailed and comprehensively-researched study * Slavic Review *
This meticulous, perceptive study shows off its author's unusual strengths as a historian equally at home in the Politburo, the communal flat, and the offices of literary journals. The combination turns out to be vital for an understanding of Soviet radio, which was not only a political tool of the first order, but also a major cultural institution with a profound impact on Soviet life ... Lovell's book is rich in detail and keenly analytical. * Kristin Roth-Ey, Times Literary Supplement *
Lovell usefully illuminates aspects of Soviet intellectual life ... engrossing * Dr Allan Jones, Reviews in History *
utterly fascinating * David Harris, Communication (Journal of BDXC): Radio Books of the Year 2016 *
The research for this book is nothing short of astounding in its thoroughness and thoughtfulness ... The book, then, is a model of its genre -- a monograph on the social and cultural history of a technology that was also an art form. It should be read by all, especially students of Soviet history. * Lewis H. Siegelbaum, American Historical Review *
Scholars with a particular interest in Soviet history will certainly want to check out this monograph, and radio historians with a particular interest in regulations or questions of aesthetics will also find this book of value. * Noah Arceneaux, History *


Awards
Winner of Winner of the 2016 ASEES USC Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies.



Book Information
ISBN 9780198725268
Author Stephen Lovell
Format Hardback
Page Count 250
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 532g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 163mm * 20mm