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How the Revolution Fought occupies an unusual and revealing place in the landscape of late-Soviet publishing. Although the contents, memoirs of Red Army soldiers and commanders, are rooted firmly in Civil War-era mythology, this 1989 second edition emerges from a dramatically different political moment. Produced by Detskaya Literatura during the final years of the USSR, the book reflects the contradictions of a state struggling to maintain its revolutionary narrative while simultaneously undergoing profound ideological transformation. By 1989, perestroika and glasnost were reshaping the contours of permissible discourse. Earlier editions of such books presented the Civil War as a near-sacred origin story, emphasizing heroism and ideological purity. This edition still bears the didactic tone expected of Soviet youth literature, but its editorial approach, under the scientific supervision of historian A. P. Nenarokova, leans more heavily on first-person testimony, subtly shifting from myth-building toward documentary authenticity, a hallmark of late-Gorbachev cultural policy. The year 1989 itself adds another layer of collectible interest. In the United States, it marked a turning point in U.S.-Soviet relations, following the 1987 INF Treaty and just months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. American and Soviet leaders were publicly emphasizing cooperation, and cultural exchange was at its peak. Soviet publishers, particularly those with youth audiences, responded by modernizing their visual language: this edition's bold red endpapers, dynamic arrow motifs, and moody lithographs by E. Shageev display a graphic sensibility far more contemporary than earlier Socialist-Realist models. In this sense, the volume becomes a transitional artifact - a children's book still committed to the ideological narratives of the past, but visually and editorially attuned to a world that was rapidly leaving those narratives behind. The tension between old revolutionary rhetoric and late-Soviet aesthetics makes the book especially significant for collectors of Cold War print culture, Soviet graphic design, and the material history of ideological change at the close of the USSR. E. Shageev was a Soviet graphic artist active during the late Soviet period, known for his evocative and often somber illustration style that blended traditional engraving techniques with modern expressive elements. His work frequently appeared in historical and military-themed volumes, where his dark, textural compositions emphasized emotional depth and narrative tension. Shageev's illustrations stand out for their etching-like linework, layered shading, and dramatic contrasts-well suited to subjects involving conflict, memory, and collective struggle. In children's and youth-oriented editions his images brought an unusually mature, atmospheric dimension that distinguished him from more conventional Soviet book illustrators of the 1970s-80s. While not widely known in the West, Shageev is appreciated among collectors of late-Soviet book art for his distinctive visual language, which sits at the intersection of traditional printmaking and the evolving graphic sensibilities of perestroika-era publishing. His work in this 1989 edition is characteristic: gritty, emotional, and historically grounded. An important example of shifting Soviet aesthetics on the eve of the USSR's dissolution.
Seller Inventory # NF.NEN.1989.1
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