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Soviet Visuals

Soviet Visuals

  • Downloads：3276
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-14 09:53:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Varia Bortsova
  • ISBN：1526628406
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A bizarrely funny， nostalgic collection of images of life under the Soviet Union - from the Instagram and Twitter accounts that have amassed a following of more than 1 million。



Welcome to the USSR。

Marvel at the wonders of the space race！ Delight in the many fine delicacies of food and drink！ Revel in the fine opportunities for work and play！

SOVIET VISUALS invites you back in time into the strangely captivating world of the Soviet Union-through a unique collection of photography， architecture， propaganda art， advertising， design， and culture from behind the Iron Culture that will fascinate， amuse， and maybe even teach a thing or two。

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Reviews

David James ，

This book is a lot of fun。 It captures the everyday human side of life in the USSR。 What captured my eye was how both personal fashion and mass government propaganda from the 1950s through the 1980s closely mirrored what was happening during the same times here in the States。 The two societies， locked in a conflict that threatened to end all life on Earth， had more in common than either country’s government would have ever dreamed of admitting。

Daniel Morgan ，

I totally judged this book by its cover。 I knew that I whatever was contained underneath a cover of two straight-faced women in furs coats holding large fish would be a treat and I was NOT disappointed。 This is has a really charming backstory。 The author was inspired to share family photos from the Soviet Union on Twitter， and apparently a lot of other people started chiming in with their own pictures of Soviet life。 Seeing how this resonated with people inspired the author to put together some I totally judged this book by its cover。 I knew that I whatever was contained underneath a cover of two straight-faced women in furs coats holding large fish would be a treat and I was NOT disappointed。 This is has a really charming backstory。 The author was inspired to share family photos from the Soviet Union on Twitter， and apparently a lot of other people started chiming in with their own pictures of Soviet life。 Seeing how this resonated with people inspired the author to put together some of the best photos into this book。 The book has a few pages of introduction， every 40 pages or so there is a guest writer who contributes 2 or 3 paragraphs， and every 40 pages or so there is a two-page spread with a relevant quote。 The pictures are the stars of this show - model shoots， awkward family photos， propaganda， and people just living their ordinary lives。 It's charming， awkward， humanizing， and fun。 。。。more

Lauren ，

Like "Awkward Family Photos，" but for a whole country！ The images of politically posters are visually stunning and bizarre。 Everyone in the portraits look like people you don't want to pick a fight with， even the kids。 It's a shame that the Cold War went on for so long because these often-humorous glimpses into Soviet life are quite charming。 These diverse people have a unifying themes of toughness， intelligence， and they all seem so hard-working。。。 I wish we could just all get along and learn f Like "Awkward Family Photos，" but for a whole country！ The images of politically posters are visually stunning and bizarre。 Everyone in the portraits look like people you don't want to pick a fight with， even the kids。 It's a shame that the Cold War went on for so long because these often-humorous glimpses into Soviet life are quite charming。 These diverse people have a unifying themes of toughness， intelligence， and they all seem so hard-working。。。 I wish we could just all get along and learn from one another。 Can you believe that I haven't had caviar？ I must rectify this。 。。。more

Susannah ，

This is an hilarious collection of people's personal photographs， and propaganda images， from life behind the Iron Curtain。 Originally begun as a Twitter account， I discovered this account on Instagram， and then was delighted to find that the images were going to be published as a book。 Grouped into loose categories such as Work， Sport & Health， and Food & Drink， etc， this gives a fascinating glance at life in the old USSR。 I hope they publish more collections of images。 This is an hilarious collection of people's personal photographs， and propaganda images， from life behind the Iron Curtain。 Originally begun as a Twitter account， I discovered this account on Instagram， and then was delighted to find that the images were going to be published as a book。 Grouped into loose categories such as Work， Sport & Health， and Food & Drink， etc， this gives a fascinating glance at life in the old USSR。 I hope they publish more collections of images。 。。。more

Carmine ，

This little book made me really glad to have been able to spend time in Russia in the 90s and live in a giant， concrete， soviet apartment building and see vestiges of the Soviet era。

Milkeyyy ，

Very soviet 10/10 would recommend

D ，

Very interesting pictures from the Soviet era。

Sam （Twinkrev） ，

Beautiful book which really humanizes them Soviet Union and shows the complexity and diversity that’s so often ignored。 Has a short intro and outdo that are political （which seems unnecessary）， but otherwise great

Aimee ，

Odd， kitschy， fantastic。

Paula ，

A funny little look at some of the weird and wonderful things the Soviet had to offer。 I really enjoyed looking through the pictures and reading the quotes。 I think it is a real conversation starter， there’s a lot of “ they really did that？” And “they really believed that？” kind of questions to be asked。 I will be sure to take a look at the website too as I was not familiar with it until I saw this book， I might even treat myself to that delicious soviet breakfast of sausage with porridge while A funny little look at some of the weird and wonderful things the Soviet had to offer。 I really enjoyed looking through the pictures and reading the quotes。 I think it is a real conversation starter， there’s a lot of “ they really did that？” And “they really believed that？” kind of questions to be asked。 I will be sure to take a look at the website too as I was not familiar with it until I saw this book， I might even treat myself to that delicious soviet breakfast of sausage with porridge while I do！ Eeww！ 。。。more

Eleanor ，

I couldn’t help but smile at the quote from ’Soviet Visuals’， that “gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the soviet union”， when it seems that so many of the faces are resolutely unsmiling。 What’s even weirder is that this quote came from none other than Stalin。Perhaps this is because i’m a westerner， but I think I was expecting it to be a bit weirder in some places。 there are definite bits of weirdness - children standing in swimwear getting UV， babies being thrown up in the air。 I do wish I couldn’t help but smile at the quote from ’Soviet Visuals’， that “gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the soviet union”， when it seems that so many of the faces are resolutely unsmiling。 What’s even weirder is that this quote came from none other than Stalin。Perhaps this is because i’m a westerner， but I think I was expecting it to be a bit weirder in some places。 there are definite bits of weirdness - children standing in swimwear getting UV， babies being thrown up in the air。 I do wish it had included more illustrations。 I particularly loved the image of two horses charging through the night sky， one with cosmonauts riding， the other with astronauts， each with their respective flags， fire at their hooves。 It is unfortunate that this is in digital form， as would probably work better as a physical book。 Like a lot of art books， they rely very much on their tactile qualities。 Even so， I could certainly imagine this working well as a physical book。Overall， this book was fun！ An intriguing peek into a peculiar and bygone world。 。。。more

Helen Marquis ，

If you're already familiar with the Instagram account of the same name， then this is a more convenient print version of that！ A compilation of photos and propaganda posters from the former Soviet Union。 Cue macho men proving their manliness by diving into frozen lakes / forging metals shirtless / dressed in military uniforms and women raising children and doing gymnastics。 Interspersed with the photos and old Soviet Era posters celebrating advances in science and technology， promoting healthy li If you're already familiar with the Instagram account of the same name， then this is a more convenient print version of that！ A compilation of photos and propaganda posters from the former Soviet Union。 Cue macho men proving their manliness by diving into frozen lakes / forging metals shirtless / dressed in military uniforms and women raising children and doing gymnastics。 Interspersed with the photos and old Soviet Era posters celebrating advances in science and technology， promoting healthy living， and highlighting the power of industry and the might of the military。It's a fascinating look at life behind the former Iron Curtain， harking back to the bygone era of communism。 A great addition to any coffee table。 。。。more

Donna Maguire ，

Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 29th October 2020 - publication day！I only got to see a sample of the book， but what I saw I thought was excellent and I really enjoyed getting to go back in time to the might of the Soviet Union。 The adverts and things chosen were great and I will now definitely be checking out the social media channels now for the author to follow too – it is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Soviet Visuals

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Soviet Visuals&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Soviet Visuals&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0