Definition of samizdat in English:
samizdat
noun ˌsamɪzˈdatˈsamɪzdatˈsɑmizdæt
mass nounThe clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, especially formerly in the communist countries of eastern Europe.
as modifier a samizdat newsletter
Example sentencesExamples
- Web sites have taken on the historical roles and research value of samizdat, avant-garde magazines, seditious literature, fringe political manifesti, etc.
- This has archival value as a kind of samizdat text and the film itself is arguably of note as an intended critique of theocracy, of sharia and the suppression of women.
- Journalists adopted tactics of underground publication, in the best tradition of East European samizdat.
- In Ukraine, all performances and translations of Shakespeare into Ukrainian were banned by strict ukases, thus turning Shakespeare into samizdat literature well before the Soviet period.
- Accessibility is part of the problem, since much of Yoder's work remains unpublished, or available only in hard-to-obtain samizdat copy.
Origin
1960s: Russian, literally 'self-publishing house'.