USSR in Construction
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''USSR in Construction'' (russian: СССР на стройке) was a journal published in the decade of 1930 to 1941, as well as briefly in 1949, in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. It became an artistic gem and counter-current in the first year of
socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
. With elements such as oversized pages and multi-page fold-outs, each issue exists as an elaborate artistic creation. The first issue of the journal was edited by
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
. The journal was published in
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, French,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, and, from 1938,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. The journal informed readers abroad of the hyper-construction taking place within the nation, and portrayed the emergence of the Soviet Union as a leading industrial power. The self-proclaimed purpose of the magazine was to "reflect in photography the whole scope and variety of the construction work now going on the USSR”. By focusing on a single theme or initiative in each issue, the contributing artists produced a work which effectively conveyed the heroic efforts of the Soviet people in fulfilling the objectives set forth by
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
to transform the technologically deficient country into a highly developed and productive world power. The first issues of USSR in Construction tended to focus upon large state projects, particularly those related to
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
. The scope of the journal quickly expanded, however, with later issues focusing on different ethnic republics and regions, various building projects, new transportation routes, and themes of daily life such as children, the arts, and athletics, in addition to special political issues. The journal was published over the course of eleven years and brought together articles by esteemed writers such as Alexander Fadeyev,
Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' ...
, and Sergei Tretyakov, with montages composed from images created by the Soviet Union's most talented photo-journalists:
Max Alpert Max Vladimirovich Alpert (russian: Макс Владимирович Альперт; 18 March 1899 – 30 November 1980) was a prominent Soviet photographer who was mostly known for his frontline work during World War II. Biography Before World ...
, Arkady Shaikhet, Georgii Zelma,
Boris Ignatovich Boris Vsevolodovich Ignatovich (russian: Борис Всеволодович Игнатович; Slutsk, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire - 4 April 1976, Moscow, USSR) was a Soviet photographer, photojournalist, and cinematographer. He was a pio ...
, Semion Fridland, and George Petrusov.
El Lissitzky Lazar Markovich Lissitzky (russian: link=no, Ла́зарь Ма́ркович Лиси́цкий, ; – 30 December 1941), better known as El Lissitzky (russian: link=no, Эль Лиси́цкий; yi, על ליסיצקי), was a Russian artist ...
and
Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers (1891–1978), born Sophie Schneider, was a German art historian, patron of the avant-garde, author, and art collector. Biography Küppers, née Schneider, was born in Kiel, Germany in 1891, the daughter of Christian and ...
designed the overall layout and cover arrangements for a number of issues, as did
Alexander Rodchenko Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders ...
and his wife,
Varvara Stepanova Varvara Fyodorovna Stepanova (russian: Варва́ра Фёдоровна Степа́нова; – May 20, 1958) was a Russian artist. With her husband Alexander Rodchenko, she was associated with the Constructivist branch of the Russian avant ...
. ''USSR in Construction'' first appeared not long after Stalin's denunciations of
Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...
as a
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
art form and the official proclamation of
socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
as the only acceptable style of art. Many avant-garde artists thus turned to photomontage as an alternative mode of expression which could side-step around the rigid restrictions being put on painting. The last issue of the journal was published in December 1949. The magazine was succeeded by another one, ''
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
'', which was launched in March 1950. Japanese illustrated propaganda magazine ''
Front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
'' was modeled on ''USSR in Construction''.


Editorial board

Apart from Gorky, the official chief editors in the 1930s were
Georgy Pyatakov Georgy (Yury) Leonidovich Pyatakov (russian: Гео́ргий Леони́дович Пятако́в; 6 August 1890 – 30 January 1937) was a leader of the Bolsheviks and a key Soviet politician during and after the 1917 Russian Revolution ...
, Valery Mezhlak, Alexander Kosarev. The de facto editor-in-chief of the magazine in the late 1930s was Evgenia Khayutina, the wife of
Nikolai Yezhov Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Ежо́в, p=nʲɪkɐˈɫaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ (j)ɪˈʐof; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940) was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the N ...
. The first composition of the editorial board included
Mikhail Koltsov Mikhail Efimovich Koltsov (russian: Михаи́л Ефи́мович Кольцо́в) (The record of the birth of Moisey Fridlyand in the metric book of the Kiev rabbinate for 1898 ( ЦГИАК Украины. Ф. 1164. Оп. 1. Д. 442. Л. 13 ...
, Fedor Konar, Artemy Khalatov and Semyon Uritsky . Separate issues were published under the editorship of Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky and other editorial staff. The main artist was Nikolai Stepanovich Troshin.


See also

*
History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953) The history of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953 covers the period in History of the Soviet Union, Soviet history from the History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (1917–1927), establishment of Stalinism through victory in the Wor ...
*
Propaganda in the Soviet Union Propaganda in the Soviet Union was the practice of state-directed communication to promote class conflict, internationalism, the goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the party itself. The main Soviet censorship body, Glavl ...
*
Photomontage Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image ...


References


External links


Some images

''USSR in Construction''
A digital presentation by the University of Saskatchewan of several full issues of the journal. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ussr In Construction Magazines established in 1931 Magazines disestablished in 1949 Magazines published in the Soviet Union Multilingual magazines Communist magazines State media Propaganda newspapers and magazines Magazines published in Moscow Monthly magazines published in Russia