Overview

Of the many Cold War radio DJs who broadcast to the USSR, Seva Novgorodsev must be near the top of the list. A masterful BBC presenter, Seva was considered a sage of rock 'n' roll. His programs introduced forbidden western popular music and culture into the USSR, rendering him an ""enemy voice"" and ideological saboteur to the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Despite KGB threats and constant media pillorying, Seva remained on the air for 38 years, acquiring millions of listeners all across the breadth of the USSR and beyond. He became a cult phenomenon, dismantling the Soviet way of life in the hearts and minds of youth. This is the story of Russia's first and best-known DJ.

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Reviews

“A labor of love, the book shows that Novgorodsev’s first-hand knowledge of Soviet culture and society, combined with a humorous and interactive presentation style that did not exist on Soviet airwaves, helped the DJ forge an intimate connection with his audiences. Daniel demonstrates that Novgorodsev’s programs played a special role in undermining Moscow’s monopoly on information and cultural production. … Daniel’s exploration of letter-writing to the BBC, supported by her own correspondence with Novgorodsev’s fans… shows how Soviet notions of truth, authenticity, and authority developed in a transnational context.” — Zbigniew Wojnowski, The Russian Review “Seva Novgorodsev led a fascinating and important life, and the author does a solid job in chronicling it. She also does a solid job of establishing the environments that Novgorodsev operated in, and how they changed over time. Her decision to end each chapter with interview segments of Russians who regularly listened to Novgorodsev’s programs, why they did so, why they tended to trust the BBC more than other foreign radio stations, and the effect it had on them, is an excellent idea which demonstrates how is programs broke through the Iron Curtain, and why access to the truth can be fatal to a dictatorship built on lies.” — Sean Brennan, Journal of Radio & Audio Media ""Michelle Daniel's book is more than a biography of the legendary DJ who brought western musical culture to the Soviet Union via BBC radio. It is, by turns, insightful political, cultural, and social history. Compelling features include testimony from Seva's listeners and Daniel’s speculation on just why he became so central a feature of Soviet life. A fascinating read for all interested in understanding the final years of the Cold War, the power of radio, or the role of what has been termed Soft Power in international relations."" — Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California “With the creation of any new medium—newsprint, radio, television—propagandists learn first how to exploit it for their own purposes. In our own era of ‘fake news,’ disinformation, and the ongoing political assault on truth, we’ve seen this play out over the Internet. But be careful: because the ‘soft power’ of popular familiarity with any new technology often undermines the clunky, cloying voice of the ideologue, in favor of the cool, revolutionary voice of popular culture. In this engaging tale of the life of Seva Novgorodsev—and how his popular BBC broadcasts helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet empire—Michelle Daniel weaves a narrative tale that is compelling and instructive, full of lessons about how the human need for truth and authenticity triumphs. While this book will surely appeal to Russia scholars and historians alike, it deserves a wide audience, for it reads like a novel and tells a story that is especially important in our own cultural moment.  What can we learn from the early ‘weaponization’ of radio to amplify propagandistic falsehoods—then seeing this turned back on itself as young people discovered the pleasure of listening to rock ‘n’ roll music—that can be applied to today's disinformation war? Plenty, for we now face an age-old beast in new clothing: the human desire to lie for political profit, up against the indomitable spirit of today's young people, whose heroes are still emerging in this digital era.” — Lee McIntyre, author of Post-Truth “Rock 'n' roll was a revolutionary movement in the West. Behind the Iron Curtain, however, it also played an inordinate role in helping to change culture, politics, and society. Michelle Daniel's book is a welcome volume that adds to our understanding of how music and radio waves—amplified by Seva Novgorodsev—were able to work their way through the semi-permeable membranes of otherwise seemingly impenetrable Cold War borders and mindsets.” — Markos Kounalakis, Ph.D., former Radio Sweden International shortwave radio producer

Michelle Daniel's book is more than a biography of the legendary DJ who brought western musical culture to the Soviet Union via BBC radio. It is, by turns, insightful political, cultural and social history. Compelling features include testimony from Seva's listeners and Daniels' speculation on just why he became so central a feature of Soviet life. A fascinating read for all interested in understanding the final years of the Cold War, the power of radio, or the role of what has been termed Soft Power in international relations. - Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California

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Michelle S. Daniel and other academic podcasts.

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