Esperanto and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia

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Winner of the 2022 Ab Imperio Award Hoping to unite all of humankind and revolutionize the world, Ludwik Zamenhof launched a new international language called Esperanto from late imperial Russia in 1887. Ordinary men and women in Russia and all over the world soon transformed Esperanto into a global movement. Esperanto and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia traces the history and legacy of this effort: from Esperantos roots in the social turmoil of the pre-revolutionary Pale of Settlement; to its links to socialist internationalism and Comintern bids for world revolution; and, finally, to the demise of the Soviet Esperanto movement in the increasingly xenophobic Stalinist 1930s. In doing so, this book reveals how Esperanto and global language politics more broadly shaped revolutionary and early Soviet Russia. Based on extensive archival materials, Brigid OKeeffes book provides the first in-depth exploration of Esperanto at grassroots level and sheds new light on a hitherto overlooked area of Russian history. As such, Esperanto and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia will be of immense value to both historians of modern Russia and scholars of internationalism, transnational networks, and sociolinguistics.

Reviews

Brigid OKeeffes book on the history of Esperanto is a fascinating read ... In remarkable detail, the book tells a comprehensive history of Esperanto as a language hegemony countermovement. It should be of great interest to anyone working on topics related to language and collective identity. * Ab Imperio *
[T]his book is an excellent addition not only to the study of Soviet history, but also to that of sociolinguistics. * Eurasian Geography and Economics *
[The book] is the first work to examine the history of and changing attitudes towards Esperanto in Soviet Russia through the use of archival records. This well-written investigation of a little-known topic is of particular interest to sociolinguists and researchers [examining] the areas of transnational networks and internationalism. * International Journal of Russian Studies *
The trajectory of [the book] constitutes a highly compelling theme from a historical, socio-cultural and anthropological sociolinguistic point of view, intertwined with far-reaching issues pervading the Eurasian continent in an era of expanding communication and advancing globalisation. ... OKeeffes book sheds light on little-known aspects of the emergence of the Esperanto * Europe-Asia Studies *
Esperanto and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia should be obligatory reading for anyone interested in language politics, internationalism, or Russian history. In this beautifully written, highly engaging book, OKeeffe reveals how the Russian Empire shaped the development of Esperanto, and how Soviet Esperantists dreams of a harmonious, united, international community eventually collided with Stalinist xenophobia and chauvinism. * Rachel Applebaum, Assistant Professor of Modern Russia and Eastern European History, Tufts University, USA *
Heeding the calls to globalise the study of Russian and Soviet history, Brigid O'Keeffe has produced a pioneering study of the rise and fall of Esperanto at its birthplace, Imperial Russia, from the age of the Great Reforms to the violent repression as the language of treason during the Stalinist Purges. Drawing on extensive archival materials, O'Keeffe is able to examine and reconstruct Esperanto as a movement driven by genuine grassroot internationalism. She demonstrates how it served as a means of self-expression and self-transformation for its proponents, enabling them to build up transnational networks, real and imagined communities, and transcend the borders in the age of rampant nationalism. Prodigiously researched and lucidly argued, this remarkable study of transnational ideals and activism shows that the Esperanto movement should not be treated as a quirky footnote in history, a tragic story of nave dreams and their predictable failure, but one that can re-vitalise our understanding of globalisation at the fin-de-sicle and the global politics of language in revolutionary Russia. O'Keeffe has produced a book of great humanity, insight, and scholarly discovery. * Matthias Neumann, Senior Lecturer of Modern Russian History, University of East Anglia, UK *

Author Bio

Brigid O'Keeffe is Associate Professor of History at Brooklyn College, USA. She is the author of New Soviet Gypsies: Nationality, Performance, and Selfhood in the Early Soviet Union (2013).