The Storm

Ilya Ehrenburg – The Storm I have finally finished The Storm, a very good book that took me an unusually long time to get through.  This is a very well-written socialist realist novel, indeed at times it is hard to believe this book ever had a place in the Stalinist cannon.  A good book. This […]

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Plutonia

Vladimir Obruchev – Plutonia Another early Soviet science fiction classic by Obruchev.  And another hidden-world story located somewhere in the ‘north’, where Russians could hide anything.  The book focuses mostly on dinosaurs and other ancient species.  This is also an undated Foreign Language Publishing House effort.  Great cover: The book is designed by D. Bisti, […]

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Volokolamsk Highway

Alexander Bek – Volokolamsk Highway Now here’s a beautiful book.  Originally written in 1944, the story of the the defense of Moscow.  Re-issued in the late 40s or early ‘fifities by the Foreign Language Publishing House.  Designed by A. Livanov.   There aren’t many illustrations within the book, but the two there are are fantastic:

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Sannikov Land

Vladimir Obruchev – Sannikov Land Classic Soviet sci-fi, written in 1926.  This edition, undated, is likely from the late 40s or ‘fifties.  Published by the Foreign Language Publishing House.  Great cover and jacket: Sannikov Land is not an invention of the author, a geologist, but a ‘real’ mythical island believed to be somewhere in the […]

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New Gorky

I just got this addition to the designy, 1980s edition of Gorky’s works.  Volume 7, My Apprenticeship, My Universities.  Progress Publishers, 1981.  This book is part of this series.

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Soviet Calendar 1944

Here’s the earliest calendar I have.  I have not seen many of theses so I do not know the run, or how many were made.  If they were produced before the war they would certainly be extraordinary documents.  Anyhow, to 1944: A nice way to start things off, even before the Stalin portrait. The colour […]

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Soviet Calendar 1945

Here’s the second wartime calendar.  This one has a very marshal feeling; you’ll see what I mean. Here’s one marshal. The marshals continue.  Zhukov’s chest looks naked compared to the official post-war portrait, covered in metal and ribbon. The civil war heroes, Voroshilov and Budyonny, recast to lead the Soviet Army. A very unusual portrait […]

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