THE SAMIZDAT JOURNAL “OBVODNY KANAL” AND SOCIAL SYNERGY IN THE CONTEXT OF LATE-SOVIET CULTURAL NONCONFORMISM

Liu Gaochen

This article is dedicated to the analysis of the samizdat literary-critical journal “Obvodny Kanal” (1981–1993) as an important participant in cultural synergy and the integration of unofficial communities in Leningrad in the 1980s. The journal, which became a platform for publications and discussions, played a key role in creating alternative cultural networks, supporting unofficial art, and forming new approaches to literary and artistic criticism. The article examines the journal’s interaction with unofficial organizations such as TEII, Club-81, and the “Free Russia” society, as well as its contribution to maintaining aesthetic-ideological nonconformism and developing survival strategies under censorship pressure. Special attention is given to the role of the journal in the hybridization of literary and artistic discourses, as well as its influence on the theoretical understanding of the late Soviet underground phenomenon. The study emphasizes the importance of further analysis of the cultural processes of Soviet samizdat and its impact on civil society and political transformation in the late Soviet period.

Keywords:samizdat, “Obvodny Kanal”, cultural synergy, TEII, Club-81, artistic avant-garde