{"product_id":"leagues-of-laughter-a-austin-garey-9781800088795","title":"Leagues of Laughter: War, Comedy and the Soviet Legacy in Russia and Ukraine","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn exploration of how comedy has shaped civil society--and become a form of subtle political resistance--in post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eLeagues of Laughter \u003c\/i\u003etraces the evolution of a Soviet-created youth game called KVN (\u003ci\u003eKlub veselykh i nakhodchivykh\u003c\/i\u003e or Club of the Cheerful and Clever) over sixty years as students' nation-states collapsed, competed, and eventually went to war. Through cross-border narratives, the book shows how humor persists--and transforms--amid authoritarianism, censorship, and conflict. With insight and compassion, author A. Austin Garey reveals how laughter became a mode of resistance, identity, and cultural continuity in the long cultural context of the war in Ukraine. In addition to introducing a novel theory of \"tradition as stance\" to explain how traditions are reproduced and reinterpreted over time, the book offers a compelling comparative analysis of cultural production under political pressure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e A. Austin Garey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1800088795\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781800088795\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e UCL Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/08\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 230\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs","brand":"A. Austin Garey","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47761001054463,"sku":"9781800088795","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e075b714-61f5-4668-8ce6-e34c1daf70b5.jpg?v=1765514428","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/leagues-of-laughter-a-austin-garey-9781800088795","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}