Russian Literature and the Power of Media

Abstract

Russian literature became famous for its history. Social and political changes have influenced the role of the development of Russian literature. This paper discusses the power of the media to help the development of Russian literature. Starting from the discovery of the letter Cyrrilic by Saint Cyrril and Methodius in 988, and subsequently developed to be widely known throughout the world. The problem in this paper is how unique the development of Russian literature relates to the power of the media. And the purpose of this paper is to know that media power greatly influences the development of Russian literature. Through a historical approach, the paper presents several periods of Russian literature; Ancient Russia, the Soviet Union, Glasnost, and Post Glasnost. Starting from the invention of printing machines that influenced the world of literature, where literary works were printed and spread throughout the world. The number of readers of literature are increasing. The author became more widely known. The impact of social and political developments in Russia is shown in literary works that tell the life of the people. In the Soviet era, some works were banned. But the authors can publish their work through Samizdat and Tamizdat. The situation changed after Gorbachev declared glasnost and perestroika. The freedom of writing is given to the writer. In the late 1980s many works previously circulated in the form of samizdat were officially published. Furthermore, in the 20th century, the internet became part of the literature. Free online availability of twenty or more prominent literary magazines has prompted critics to question whether the electronic version will reduce people's reading interest. But not everyone likes reading literature through online. Keywords—internet, literature, Russian, samizdat, Soviet