Samizdat
a self-publication of banned ideas
// updated 2025-04-11 10:25
- the secret copying and sharing of illegal / forbidden / oppressed ideas
- especially in the context of Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War
- a private publication of such ideas
Parallel concepts include the:
- zine (self-published magazine)
- alt account (in social media)
Inflections
- plural: samizdats
- rare (from Russian): samizdati / samizdaty
Etymology
- Russian: самиздат (samizdat)
- сам (sam) = "self"
- издат (izdat) from издательство = "publishing"