{"product_id":"communisms-public-sphere-kyrill-kunakhovich-9781501767043","title":"Communism's Public Sphere: Culture as Politics in Cold War Poland and East Germany","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCommunism's Public Sphere\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e explores the political role of cultural spaces in the Eastern Bloc.\u003c\/b\u003e Under communist regimes that banned free speech, political discussions shifted to spaces of art: theaters, galleries, concert halls, and youth clubs. Kyrill Kunakhovich shows how these venues turned into sites of dialogue and contestation. While officials used them to spread the communist message, artists and audiences often flouted state policy and championed alternative visions. Cultural spaces therefore came to function as a public sphere, or a rare outlet for discussing public affairs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFocusing on Krak in Poland and Leipzig in East Germany, \u003ci\u003eCommunism's Public Sphere\u003c\/i\u003e sheds new light on state-society interactions in the Eastern Bloc. In place of the familiar trope of domination and resistance, it highlights unexpected symbioses like state-sponsored rock and roll, socialist consumerism, and sanctioned dissent. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy examining nearly five decades of communist rule, from the Red Army's arrival in Poland in 1944 to German reunification in 1990, Kunakhovich argues that cultural spaces played a pivotal mediating role. They helped reform and stabilize East European communism but also gave cover to the protest movements that ultimately brought it down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kyrill Kunakhovich\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1501767046\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781501767043\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cornell University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/15\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 354\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.48lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.94d","brand":"Kyrill Kunakhovich","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44071540031743,"sku":"9781501767043","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e269a048-95d6-421c-8682-b759e2342121.jpg?v=1685436706","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/communisms-public-sphere-kyrill-kunakhovich-9781501767043","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}