The Samizdat Journal Chasy (The Clock) and the Counter-Archive of Unofficial Culture

This chapter explores the Leningrad samizdat journal Chasy (The Clock, No. 1–-80, 1976–1990) as an example of the counter-archive of late Soviet culture. Chasy was an exceptionally regular and long-lived samizdat (self-published) edition; it was arguably the most substantial “thick journal” of unofficial culture. However, its capacious and eclectic contents, running in total to over 20,000 pages, provoked questions even from those closely involved as contributors and editors about the quality of the works included. This article makes use of a new and detailed spreadsheet of Chasy contents to describe the rubrics, count the contributors, and assess the relative weight of recognized authors and editors vs. one-time authors who helped fill the pages. The motivation for including the latter is explained based on both philosophical and strategic goals enunciated by founding editor Boris Ivanov and his colleagues. The journal Chasy sought to demonstrate the existence of a broad-based independent cultural movement with the aim of creating a place for it on the margins of Soviet society: this goal was partially realized when Chasy editors managed to win official approval for establishing Club-81 in 1981. Throughout its fifteen years of developing and documenting unofficial culture in Leningrad, Chasy provided a forum for bringing together independent cultural initiatives and showcasing work from the fields of literature, criticism, visual art, theater, music, and more. It also hosted thoughtful reflections on the problems and possibilities of independent cultural expression in the Soviet Union. Chasy blurred the line between journal and archive as it reduced other distinctions between samizdat readers vs. writers, official vs. unofficial culture, and authorized vs. independent history. Michel Foucault highlighted the relationship between sense and nonsense in the archive as he problematized the state’s authority to exclude the mad and the nonsensical from the reason associated with history and society. The state-centered character of this approach to the archive can be complemented by the counter-archive, which exists outside the state. The inclusive character of Chasy as counter-archive suggests the diffusion of authority, as people are required to think and form their own judgments about what constitutes significant culture and history.