Albert Baiburin, "The Soviet Passport: The History, Nature and Uses of the Internal Passport in the USSR" (Polity Press, 2022)
In\xa0The Soviet Passport:\xa0The History, Nature and Uses of the Internal Passport in the USSR\xa0(Polity Press, 2021),\xa0Albert Baiburin provides the first in-depth study of the development and uses of the passport, or state identity card, in the former Soviet Union.\xa0This richly empirical book\xa0will be of great interest not only to students and scholars of Russia and the Soviet Union, but to to anyone interested in the shaping of identity in the modern world.\xa0The Soviet Passport\xa0was first published in Russian in 2017; this is the first English-language translation of the book.\nFirst introduced in 1932, the Soviet passport took on an exceptional range of functions, extending not just to the regulation of movement and control of migrancy but also to the constitution of subjectivity and of social hierarchies based on place of residence, family background, and ethnic origin.\xa0\xa0While the basic role of the Soviet passport was to certify a person\u2019s identity, it assumed a far greater significance in Soviet life, with wide-ranging social, economic and geographical consequences. Passport ownership became the signifier of an acceptable social existence, and the passport itself became part of the life experience and self-perception of those who possessed it.\nIn this interview, I was joined by the book's translator, Stephen Dalziel. We discussed the role of passports in Soviet and pre-Soviet society, including the revolutionary\xa0abolition of the Tsarist\xa0passport system and\xa0the subsequent introduction of the Soviet passport system. We also discussed the process of translation, both for this book and for Stephen's previous translation projects. We hope you enjoy our conversation.\nAlbert Baiburin\xa0(the book's author, who could not join us) is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the European University at St Petersburg.\nStephen Dalziel\xa0(my interviewee) is the book's translator.\xa0He is a Soviet expert and\xa0former BBC correspondent. He now runs\xa0DLC Training and Consulting,\xa0and is keen to take on more translation work.\nCatriona Gold\xa0is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office's role in the Cold War. She can be reached by\xa0email\xa0or on\xa0Twitter.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law