Alternative Book Publishing in Russia

In the context of the widespread availability of the Internet and the development of accessible publishing technologies, traditional types of alternative book publishing are being modified and new ones are emerging. The lack of a settled understanding of the terminology as well as the framework of the phenomenon call for a comprehensive approach, taking into account new realities. The article deals with the problem of the composition and boundaries of the concept of alternative book publishing . In the proposed classification of alternative book publishing types, opposition (countercultural) and amateur (subcultural) book publishing are distinguished. The article outlines the main stages in the development of alternative book publishing, highlighting the dominant types such as lubok in the 17-18 th centuries; album culture in the first half of the 19 th century; free and illegal printing in the second half of the 19 th and early 20 th centuries; proto-samizdat and samizdat during the Soviet period, and zines and artist’s book in the post-Soviet period. As a rule, opposition and amateur book publishing types have been studied separately, without being considered within the broader context of alternative book publishing. The author attempts to highlight the interconnections and continuity between different forms of alternative book publishing. Special attention is given to amateur (subcultural) book publishing, as in the 20 th century, against the backdrop of the dominance of countercultural samizdat in this sector, subcultural publishing was somewhat overshadowed, and the reasons for its resurgence at the end of the 20 th and beginning of the 21st centuries may seem less obvious without a historical perspective

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