Clandestine, self-published writing circulated outside state censorship, especially in the former Soviet sphere. Literature as a network of hands and risk. Samizdat is defined by its conditions: secrecy, copying, and the courage of distribution.

From Russian самиздат (samizdat), literally "self-publishing," modeled on official Soviet publishing labels: sam "self" + izdat (from izdatel'stvo, "publishing house"). Bureaucracy's format repurposed for disobedience.