In all, the volume—usefully framed by an introduction by Boris Kolonitskii, who has devoted several decades to the study of the language and symbolism of the Russian Revolution (starting with his landmark monograph, co-authored with Orlando Figes, Interpreting the Russian Revolution: The Language and Symbols of 1917 [1991])—marks an impressive contribution to the study of Russian political discourse during times of radical change. At times the temporally compact nature of the period in question together with the selective nature of sources consulted leads one to wonder about the representativeness of the changes and trends argued—perhaps a problem that big-data analytical tools might shed light on in subsequent studies. But history of concepts is not corpus linguistics, and, when executed by scholars well versed in their material, offers compelling interpretations of the complex relationship between language and political authority.

В издательстве Европейского университета в Петербурге в серии «Эпоха войн и революций» вышла книга «Слова и конфликты: язык противостояния и эскалации гражданской войны в России». Этот сборник статей под редакцией профессора Бориса Колоницкого впервые анализирует слова в качестве механизмов подготовки гражданской войны в России и попыток противодействия ей.