Description
Book SynopsisA portrait of the Soviet mass media from the end of World War II through the 1970s.
Trade ReviewKristin Roth-Ey's Moscow Prime Time interweaves an analysis of Soviet cinema 'as an industry' with the much-less studied phenomena of Soviet radio and television.... Roth-Ey successfully connects the history of post-Stalinist mass media to the broader struggle for power and influence during the cold war.... Moreover, Roth-Ey's book contributes positively to the growing historiography on the Soviet Union after Stalin with its focus on mid-level institutional actors within the Soviet system, which thankfully takes us beyond the traditional dissident/repressive-state dichotomy of scholarship on this period.
-- Joshua First * Technology and Culture *
Not only does Kristin Roth-Ey provide a wealth of fascinating details about subjects such as Soviet ticket sales for domestic and foreign feature films, she also analyzes the multiple tensions that constrained post-Stalinist mass media production, and develops a consistent, powerful argument. Moscow Prime Time is a meticulous, well-written, and original book, a fascinating read.
* Russian Review *
This insightful study is a strong addition to the growing body of work concerning Soviet media culture during the Cold War.... It is a compelling, well-documented, articulate examination of the processes, products, and effects of the Soviet film, radio, and television industries. Roth-Ey argues that the Soviets' success at creating an indigenous popular culture became a major part of the USSR's eventual downfall, since the media in which the culture was expressed were inherently skewed toward a non-Soviet worldview.
* Choice *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Soviet Culture in the Media Age
1. The Soviet Film Industry: Defining Cinematic Success after Stalin
2. The New Soviet Movie Culture
3. What Was Said When the Muses Were Heard: Foreign Radio in Soviet Contexts
4. Finding a Home for Television in the USSR
5. Television and Authority in Soviet Culture
EpilogueSelected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
