Contrary to prevailing ideas, publicity and free controversy in the domestic history of the last two centuries are more common than public mute, repression or propaganda. Moreover, publicity and publicity have repeatedly become triggers for serious reforms from above. At the same time, optimistic expectations from expanding the sphere of open public discussion most often did not come true. Is the conclusion that the bet on publicity in Russia is doomed to defeat? The task of the authors of the book is to rely on the theory of the public sphere and publicity (Habermas, Arendt, Fraser, Kharkhordin, Yurchak, etc.) to show how often and differently for 200 years in Russia glasnost, deafness to political speech and repression were combined. The collection includes more than twenty studies that allow us to reconstruct the rich history of the transformation of publicity regimes in pre-revolutionary, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Analyzing various forms of publicity - from the imperial court to art exhibitions and debates on social networks - the authors seek to explain why in some historical periods statements addressed to society have a significant resonance and are able to determine the course of events, while in others they leave the audience indifferent and are severely suppressed by the authorities.