How Russia Learned to Talk

How Russia Learned to Talk offers an entirely new perspective on Russian political culture, showing the era from Alexander II's Great Reforms to early Stalinism as a single 'stenographic age', with all of Russia's rulers, whether tsars or Bolsheviks, grappling with the challenges and opportunities of mass politics and modern communications.

Introduction: Talking as History; 1 Glasnost' in Practice: Public Speaking in the Reform Era, 1856-1867; 2 Trials and Tribulations: The Long 1870s, 1867-1881; 3 Small Deeds and Muffled Voices: The Age of Counter-Reform, 1881-1895; 4 The Rise of Political Speech, 1895-1905; 5 Public Speaking in the Age of the State Duma; 6 Revolutionary Talk, 1917-1918; 7 Soviet Talk; Epilogue; Bibliography