Made in Russia Unsung Icons of Soviet Design

The Soviet era remains a relatively little-known and seldom acknowledged part of the history of Russian design, but one whose legacy is still visible today. Many products of the era went on to become iconic and influential works of design, celebrated as much for reflecting the unapologetic ethos of the time as for their own ingenuity. Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design is an irreverent celebration of fifty such masterpieces, ranging from pioneers of early Soviet technology such as the Lada car, The Sputnik rocket, And The Lomo camera, To icons of quotidian Soviet culture such as the fishnet shopping bag, The infamous Soviet school uniforms, The beveled twelve-sided glass, a Cold War-inspired arcade game, and Misha the Olympic Bear, The mascot To The 1980 games. After an introduction from editor Michael Idov and an essay on the place of design in Soviet culture by Gary Shteyngart, The objects are presented with a short accompanying essay from one of today's best-known Russian writers giving a brief history of its creation, and each is illustrated with black-and-white archival images. Three color sections throughout the book include additional images of a selection of the objects. Designed by the creator of the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia series, The book is as much an intelligent reading book on forgotten aspects of Soviet culture as a tongue-in-cheek illustrated survey of an under-acknowledged but prolific period in Russian design and creativity.

Michael Idov is a contributing editor at New York Magazine and the author of the 2009 novel Ground Up, published in English as well as Idov's own Russian translation. His essays have appeared in numerous publications including GQ, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. He lives in New York City.

Boris Kachka is a journalist and author whose writing has been published in New York Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, and Russia! Magazine.

Vitaly Komar ia a conceptual artist and, together with Alexander Melamid, one of the founders of the Sots Art movement. His work has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and at the Venice Biennale.

Gary Shteyngart is the best-selling author of fiction including The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Absurdistan, and Super Sad True Love Story. His writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, and The New York Times.

Lara Vapnyar is the author of the novel Memoirs of a Muse and a collection of short stories, There Are Jews in My House. Her work has been published in The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine.

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Made in Russia Unsung Icons of Soviet Design

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