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Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Societies
Starting with the first man-made satellite 'Sputnik' in 1957 and culminating four years later with the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, space became a new utopian horizon. This book explores the profound repercussions of the Soviet space exploration program on culture and everyday life in Eastern Europe, especially in the Soviet Union itself.
344 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 18, 2020
A book composed of conference papers can be a dicey affair. Not only can it be a bloodless, sometimes even excruciatingly dull read, but one boring presentation can be followed by one so agonizing that the previous reading seems like the Gettysburg Address in comparison. Anyone who works in academia can attest that these are not just the grumblings of a philistine with a short attention span. Students have to literally sometimes be bribed with credit to attend.
"Soviet Space Culture" collects essays from a symposium dealing with the space program in the USSR. It is, as the title makes apparent, more of a cultural study than a technical study. It concerns itself primarily with the reactions of the Russian people to the space craze set off in the East and West after the successful launch of the Sputnik satellite.
Many interesting anecdotes and insights are mustered. Especially interesting was the chapter on the Soviet state's attempt to supplant traditional Christianity with a sort of cosmic awe that venerated physicists as quasi-shamanic and Soviet Science as a way to achieve something like unity with the godhead. The biographies and beliefs of some of the key scientists involved in the projects show, much like American military history, how genius and insanity many times go hand in hand.
Less weighty, more charming chapters cover the cultural ephemera and nostalgia of the early Soviet period, the kitschy and wide-eyed posters of dogs outfitted as astronauts with bright Cyrillic inscriptions emblazoned beneath their pictures, the kids on the playgrounds in small Russian towns climbing jungle gyms designed to resemble space rockets.
The overall effect of the work is achieved through varying themes and styles of writing. Reading it was like going to a symposium, minus the stiffness from sitting in a chair for a couple of hours and the awkward post-talk conversation over salvers of artisanal cheese. Recommended. With photos and illustrations, though they're in black and white (which seems a disservice as the originals are so rich in their choices of color).
"Soviet Space Culture" collects essays from a symposium dealing with the space program in the USSR. It is, as the title makes apparent, more of a cultural study than a technical study. It concerns itself primarily with the reactions of the Russian people to the space craze set off in the East and West after the successful launch of the Sputnik satellite.
Many interesting anecdotes and insights are mustered. Especially interesting was the chapter on the Soviet state's attempt to supplant traditional Christianity with a sort of cosmic awe that venerated physicists as quasi-shamanic and Soviet Science as a way to achieve something like unity with the godhead. The biographies and beliefs of some of the key scientists involved in the projects show, much like American military history, how genius and insanity many times go hand in hand.
Less weighty, more charming chapters cover the cultural ephemera and nostalgia of the early Soviet period, the kitschy and wide-eyed posters of dogs outfitted as astronauts with bright Cyrillic inscriptions emblazoned beneath their pictures, the kids on the playgrounds in small Russian towns climbing jungle gyms designed to resemble space rockets.
The overall effect of the work is achieved through varying themes and styles of writing. Reading it was like going to a symposium, minus the stiffness from sitting in a chair for a couple of hours and the awkward post-talk conversation over salvers of artisanal cheese. Recommended. With photos and illustrations, though they're in black and white (which seems a disservice as the originals are so rich in their choices of color).
February 5, 2015
Notable colección de ensayos introductorios sobre la repercusión cultural del programa espacial soviético. Historia general de los "padres" del programa, los precursores y sus héroes, pero sobre todo como narrativa propagandística creada por los poderes del régimen soviético y su impacto en la población soviética de la época (entusiasmo y después desilusión y nostalgia).
Se trata de una mirada general sin entrar al detalle sobre ningún tema ni en análisis pormenorizados. Para mi ver falta precisamente este análisis y tocar temas como la gran repercusión de la época en la en el imaginario colectivo dentro y fuera de los países de la órbita ex-soviética.
Se trata de una mirada general sin entrar al detalle sobre ningún tema ni en análisis pormenorizados. Para mi ver falta precisamente este análisis y tocar temas como la gran repercusión de la época en la en el imaginario colectivo dentro y fuera de los países de la órbita ex-soviética.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews