Portmanteau of Russian 'sam' (self) and 'izdatel'stvo' (publisher); literally self-published. Samizdat was the term given to clandestine reproduction and distribution of government-suppressed literature in Soviet countries. The forbidden texts were copied a few at a time, typewritten or written by hand and often using carbon paper. These reproductions were then distributed among friends or sold, and the recipients of the texts would often go on to make more copies, and so on.
"I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and (may) get imprisoned for it"
-Vladimir Bukovsky on Samizdat.
by STEPHANATOR!!! December 24, 2007
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Portmanteau of Russian 'sam' (self) and 'izdatel'stvo' (publisher); literally self-published. Samizdat was the term given to clandestine reproduction and distribution of government-suppressed literature in Soviet countries. The forbidden texts were copied a few at a time, typewritten or written by hand and often using carbon paper. These reproductions were then distributed among friends or sold, and the recipients of the texts would often go on to make more copies, and so on.
"I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and (may) get imprisoned for it"
-Vladimir Bukovsky on Samizdat.
by STEPHANATOR!!! February 2, 2008
Get the samizdat mug.