Time Period: Soviet

  • Novoe Russkoe Slovo Digital Archive

    Novoe Russkoe Slovo Digital Archive

    Influential newspaper for Russian readers abroad.

    First published in 1910 in New York, Russkoe slovo (Русское слово, Russian Word) initially carried pro-Communist leanings before undergoing nominal and ideological changes a decade later. Under the new name Novoe russkoe slovo (Новое русское слово, New Russian Word), the newspaper shed its pro-Communist sympathies and established itself as the premier newspaper of the Russian émigré community in New York and beyond.

    Novoe russkoe slovo grew in stature and popularity throughout the 1920s. Contributing to the growth was the increasing wave of émigrés, many prominent intellectuals among them, in search of better fortunes in Europe and the United States after the Bolshevik revolution. Writers and journalists such as A. Vetlugin, George Grebenstchikoff, Aleksei Fovitsky in the US and Ivan Bunin, Don Aminado, Arkady Averchenko in Europe, among others, became regular writers for Novoe russkoe slovo. Along with publishing émigré authors, the newspaper began republishing Soviet authors as well, connecting the information-hungry Russian community with the goings on in the far-off motherland.

    Over time the newspaper introduced new features such as book and film reviews, modeling itself after publications in other immigrant communities as well as more mainstream publications such as the New York Times and the New York Herald.

    Novoe russkoe slovo experienced its true height of popularity during WWII and the immediate aftermath. No longer counting on émigré writers and publicists, the community had begun producing homegrown talent who thought and wrote stylistically in a very different manner than their first-generation immigrant predecessors, with many of them cutting their journalistic and literary teeth on the pages of the newspaper.

    The third wave of immigration from the Soviet Union in the 1970s brought with it a new infusion of talent into the New York Russian community. Novoe russkoe slovo, by then a recognizable and a reputable institution, became one of the beneficiaries of the changing immigrant scene. Positioning itself as the premier immigrant publication, and certainly the most sophisticated, it soon became a lively forum for a varied group of authors, both old and new, under the editorial leadership of Andrey Sedykh, the erstwhile personal secretary of Ivan Bunin, the famed Nobel Prize winner for literature.

    Due to financial difficulties and other factors, Novoe russkoe slovo, the oldest Russian-language periodical in North America, ceased publication a century after it was first established, in 2010.

    The Novoe Russkoe Slovo Digital Archive contains all obtainable published issues (approx. 40,000 pages), including issues of the newspaper’s predecessor title Russkoe slovo (1917–1920). The archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-NRS
    • Year First Published: 1910
    • Archive: 1917–2010
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: United States
    • City: New York
    • Frequency: Daily (240 issues per year)
    • Format: PDF, page-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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  • Nedelia Digital Archive

    Nedelia Digital Archive

    Popular Soviet illustrated weekly newspaper.

    Established in 1960, Nedelia (Неделя, The Week) began as a Sunday supplement to Izvestiia under the editorship of Aleksey Adzhubey, the son in law of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. At the height of its popularity Nedelia claimed up to two million copies in weekly circulation and was available for distribution only through newspaper kiosks on Sundays, eschewing the traditional subscription model.

    A pioneering publication, it was one of the very few Soviet periodicals that kept the official Communist Party propaganda to a minimum, covering instead cultural, social, and political happenings with a certain degree of lightheartedness, which perhaps was the main reason behind its popularity. Rivaled only by the popularity of Ogonek, Nedelia regularly featured works by renowned Soviet writers, journalists, and photographers. One of the most popular columns of the newspaper was “Guests of page 13,” that regularly featured interviews with popular Soviet stars and celebrities.

    The Nedelia Digital Archive contains all obtainable published issues from the very first issue, comprising more than 44,000 pages. The archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-NED
    • Year First Published: 1960
    • Archive: 1960–1999
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: Weekly
    • Format: PDF, page-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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  • Nash Sovremennik Digital Archive

    Nash Sovremennik Digital Archive

    Influential literary periodical of the Soviet and post-Soviet period.

    Nash Sovremennik (Наш современник, Our Contemporary) was established in 1956 in Moscow on the basis of the Maxim Gorky-founded literary journal Al’manakh (Альманах, Almanac; pub. 1933–1955, suspended 1940–1947). One of the esteemed Soviet/Russian “thick journals,” Nash Sovremennik was published under the auspices of the RSFSR Union of Writers and was one of the most popular and well-respected Soviet literary periodicals. Unlike many of its contemporary counterparts that tended to attract writers and young talent from a more urban intellectual setting, Nash Sovremennik was a pioneer in finding talent from the Russian glubinka and remote provinces, providing these writers with an important literary platform unavailable elsewhere. As a result, the journal came to be associated with the so-called “village” or “provincial prose,” with some of its most important representatives being such writers as Fyodor Abramov, Viktor Astafyev, Vasily Belov, and Vasily Shukshin, among others.

    Though largely faithful to Marxist-Leninist precepts since its founding, during the last years of the Soviet Union the journal underwent dramatic ideological reformulations, moving away from communist orthodoxy to Russian neo-Slavophile conservatism and patriotism that fiercely opposed Western political and literary trends on ideological grounds. At the height of its popularity in the 1990s Nash Sovremennik would boast a circulation of nearly half a million copies.

    Led by Stanislav Kunyayev since 1989, the journal has become an important literary and journalistic vehicle for Russian conservatives and traditionalists, attracting such political and literary figures as Gennadi Zyuganov, Nikolay Ryzhkov, Sergey Kara-Murza, Aleksandr Prokhanov, Zakhar Prilepin, and the controversial late Metropolital Ioann (Snychev).

    The Nash Sovremennik Digital Archive includes all obtainable issues of Al’manakh and Nash Sovremennik published from 1933 on, with an additional year’s worth of content available for purchase on an annual basis. The archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization and complete original graphics. The archive has searchable text and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-NSOV
    • Year First Published: 1933
    • Archive: 1933–2025
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: Monthly
    • Format: PDF, article-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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    More about the Soviet “Thick Journals”

    The famed Soviet tolstye zhurnaly, or “thick journals,” were significant platforms for literary and intellectual discourse. Tolstye zhurnaly such as Nash Sovremennik played a complex and multifaceted role in Soviet intellectual and literary life. They were not merely publications but institutions that shaped and were shaped by the cultural, intellectual, and political currents of their time. These journals served multiple roles:

    They acted as repositories of high culture, preserving the intellectual and literary achievements of the era. Given the limited avenues for independent publishing, these journals were the primary platforms where established and emerging writers could reach an audience.

    State-Controlled Outlets. While they were crucial platforms for intellectual and artistic expression, it’s important to remember that these journals were often used to propagate official ideologies, and the works published in them usually underwent rigorous censorship.

    Academic Importance. For academics studying the Soviet period, tolstye zhurnaly offer a valuable glimpse into the state-sanctioned intellectual climate of the time. They provide context for how literature and intellectual thought evolved under different political and social conditions.

    Catalysts for Change. During more liberal periods, such as the Khrushchev Thaw and the perestroika years, tolstye zhurnaly could act as catalysts for change, pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable to discuss and publish.

    Explore all Thick Journals
  • Narody Mira. The Soviet Ethnographic Series

    Narody Mira. The Soviet Ethnographic Series

    Narody Mira (Народы мира, Peoples of the World) is a landmark 18-volume scholarly series on world ethnography, published by the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences between 1954 and 1966. This fundamental project remains one of the most comprehensive Soviet attempts to document and analyze the ethnic composition, cultures, and traditions of peoples across the globe.

    The Narody Mira series represents a genre specific to the Soviet era: a massive multi-volume work produced over years, if not decades, by the country’s intellectual elite. It was a highly choreographed and collaborative enterprise that – with the possible exception of the People’s Republic of China – had no real parallel anywhere else in the world.

    For today’s researchers, Narody Mira represents a unique intersection of global ethnographic knowledge and Soviet academic tradition at the height of the Cold War. The series captures a moment when Soviet scholars sought to systematize and classify the peoples of the world, offering both rich empirical data and an ideological framework that shaped research in the USSR for decades.

    Narody Mira. The Soviet Ethnographic Series e-book collection is an indispensable resource for anyone studying global cultural diversity, Soviet approaches to ethnography, or the intellectual history of the 20th century. For scholars in anthropology and ethnography, the series provides detailed descriptions of cultures, languages, and traditions that remain valuable for comparative studies and historical analysis. Historians will find in these volumes rare insights into Soviet scholarly priorities, methodologies, and representations of both Soviet and non-Soviet peoples. Linguists can draw on the extensive coverage of language groups and dialects. Political scientists and area studies specialists can use the series to better understand how knowledge about other regions was constructed, disseminated, and employed in Soviet foreign policy and cultural diplomacy.

    • Product Code: EB-NAROD
    • Number of Titles: 18
    • Years of Publication: 1954–1966
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • Cities: Moscow
    • Format: PDF, chapter-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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    Series Titles

    Narody Mira. The Soviet Ethnographic Series covers regions and populations worldwide:

    • Narody Avstralii i Okeanii (Peoples of Australia and Oceania)
    • Narody Ameriki (Peoples of the Americas, in 2 volumes)
    • Narody Afriki (Peoples of Africa)
    • Narody Vostochnoi Azii (Peoples of East Asia)
    • Narody Evropeiskoi chasti SSSR (Peoples of the European Part of the USSR, in 2 volumes)
    • Narody zarubezhnoi Evropy (Peoples of Foreign Europe, in 2 volumes)
    • Narody Kavkaza (Peoples of the Caucasus, in 2 volumes)
    • Narody Perednei Azii (Peoples of the Near East)
    • Narody Sibiri (Peoples of Siberia)
    • Narody Srednei Azii i Kazakhstana (Peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, in 2 volumes)
    • Narody Yugo-Vostochnoi Azii (Peoples of Southeast Asia)
    • Narody Yuzhnoi Azii (Peoples of South Asia)
    • Chislennost’ i rasselenie narodov mira (Population and Distribution of the Peoples of the World)

    Each volume provides a detailed ethnographic portrait of peoples and regions, addressing their origins, languages, economies, social structures, belief systems, and cultural practices. The series draws on extensive fieldwork, archival research, and historical analysis, combining descriptive accounts of daily life, rituals, and celebrations with systematic scholarly interpretation.

    Through Narody Mira readers can gain insights into the ways people from different backgrounds interact with their environment, express their identities, preserve traditions, and adapt to modern changes. The series aims to promote cultural awareness, appreciation, and cross-cultural understanding by showcasing the beauty and complexity of human diversity across the globe.

    The concluding demographic volume, Chislennost’ i rasselenie narodov mira, adds another dimension, offering systematic data on ethnic composition, population size, and distribution across regions and nations of the mid-20th century world — material that remains a vital reference point for historical population studies.

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  • Moscow News Digital Archive

    Moscow News Digital Archive

    Russia’s oldest English-language newspaper.

    Moscow News (pub. 1930–2014) was the oldest English-language newspaper in Russia and, arguably, the newspaper with the longest democratic history. From a mouthpiece of the Communist party to an influential advocate for social and political change, the pages of Moscow News reflect the shifting ideological, political, social and economic currents that have swept through the Soviet Union and Russia in the last century.

    The Moscow News Digital Archive contains all obtainable published issues (1930–2014, approx. 60,000 pages), including issues of the newspaper’s short-lived sister publication Moscow Daily News (1932–1938). The archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-MN
    • Year First Published: 1930
    • Archive: 1930–2014
    • Language: English
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: Weekly
    • Format: PDF, page-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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    More About Moscow News

    In its early years, Moscow News largely served as yet another weapon in the Soviet Union’s propaganda arsenal, offering foreigners a window into the Soviet way of life. Initially committed to news reportage, Moscow News ultimately abandoned the format adopting a more formal Communist Party ideological worldview and language, operating under the auspices of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.

    Despite striving to stay within the boundaries of Soviet guidelines, the newspaper’s founding editors and staff found themselves in the crosshairs. Starting in the late 1930s, multiple staff members were arrested and the newspaper’s status became tenuous. Moscow News was ultimately shut down by the Politburo in 1949.

    Moscow News was rehabilitated in 1956 during the Khrushchev Thaw, and the onset of Gorbachev-era perestroika and glasnost reforms brought about a slew of changes in the newspaper’s editorial direction. Strict ideological commitments of the previous decades were abandoned in favor of more reformist and even independent views, with traditionally taboo subjects like the repressions and show trials of the 1930s, or the Katyn massacre of Polish officers by Soviets, no longer being off limits. As a result of these changes Moscow News would soon become one of the most outstanding and most important Russian periodicals of the era.

    Like many newspapers, Moscow News faced financial challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was forced to cease all foreign-language editions, leaving just the English and Russian (which ceased in 2008), and underwent several changes of ownership, including, for a time, the outspoken oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Throughout these transitions, the newspaper worked to maintain its reputation as an influential voice for critical, independent reporting.

    Ultimately, Moscow News was forced to cease publication in early 2014 when its owner, state-funded news agency RIA Novosti, was shut down by President Vladimir Putin. The newspaper’s reputation for critical, independent reporting – not to mention Its own tumultuous history – makes Moscow News an essential resource for understanding the various political and social shifts that occurred during the Soviet and post-Soviet eras and the new challenges facing Russia in the Putin era.

  • Muslims of the Soviet East Digital Archive

    Muslims of the Soviet East Digital Archive

    Soviet propaganda journal on the role of Muslims in the cultural and political life of the USSR.

    Established in 1968 by the Muslim Religious Board for Central Asia and Kazakhstan, Muslims of the Soviet East was the only Islamic periodical carrying the official seal of approval of the Soviet government. Published originally in Uzbek, the journal expanded its linguistic base in the following years, adding Arabic (1969), French and English (1974), Farsi (1980), and Dari (1984). A Russian version would come along surprisingly late, only in 1990, one year before its closure. The digital archive includes the English edition only.

    As with many foreign language publications in the Soviet Union, the target audience of the journal was not its citizens but readers abroad. Consequently, the original Uzbek language edition was exclusively in the traditional Arabic script known as the Yana Imla, a disappearing writing form in Soviet Central Asia, but in use in Uzbek communities in places like Afghanistan. If the publication of the journal in Arabic, Farsi, and Dari was meant to familiarize readers in those countries with the life of their coreligionists in the Soviet Union, the introduction of the journal in “Western” languages served an additional propaganda purpose, i.e., to counter the notion prevalent in the West that the USSR was thoroughly and intractably anti-religious.

    Consisting of multiple sections, Muslims of the Soviet East contains a mix of sermons exhorting Islamic piety from notable Central Asian clerics, discussions of regional Islamic history, and the role of Soviet Muslims in the cultural and political life of the USSR.

    The Muslims of the Soviet East Digital Archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, comprising 57 issues, 860 articles, and nearly 2,000 pages. The archive features full page-level digitization and complete original graphics. The archive has searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-MUS
    • Year First Published: 1974
    • Archive: 1974–1990
    • Language: English
    • Country: Uzbekistan
    • City: Tashkent
    • Frequency: Quarterly
    • Format: PDF, page-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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  • Moskva Digital Archive

    Moskva Digital Archive

    Key publication chronicling nearly 70 years of Russian literary and cultural development.

    Moskva (Москва, Moscow) has shaped the cultural life of Soviet and Russian society since 1957. Moskva stands among the prestigious “thick journals” of Russia and the USSR that defined the intellectual landscape of their time.

    The journal has consistently published works by contemporary writers, including prose, poetry, journalism, and criticism. Moskva holds particular historical significance as the first publisher of Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece The Master and Margarita and Nikolai Karamzin’s monumental work History of the Russian State. Its pages have featured outstanding works of Russian literature by authors such as Bunin, Sholokhov, and Yulian Semyonov, alongside acclaimed international writers including Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner.

    Uniquely among thick journals, Moskva maintains a section called “Home Church,” which introduces readers to religious values. The journal has served as an intellectual anchor for the intelligentsia, helping to bridge the spiritual divide between past and future. Today, Moskva continues to articulate the ideological doctrine of modernity, uphold Russian ideas, explore traditions of Russian thought, and carefully preserve the excellence of the Russian literary language.

    The Moskva Digital Archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, with an additional year’s worth of content available for purchase on an annual basis. Featuring full page-level digitization and complete original graphics, each issue has been carefully digitized and split into individual articles with permanent URLs, making it easier for researchers to create accurate citations in their work. Featuring full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and a user-friendly bilingual interface in Russian and English, the searchable database enables efficient exploration of key literary works, critical essays, and editorial content that shaped Russian intellectual discourse throughout the 20th century. The archive is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-MOSK
    • Year First Published: 1957
    • Archive: 1957–2025
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: Monthly
    • Format: PDF, article-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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    More about the Soviet “Thick Journals”

    The famed Soviet tolstye zhurnaly, or “thick journals,” were significant platforms for literary and intellectual discourse. Tolstye zhurnaly such as Moskva played a complex and multifaceted role in Soviet intellectual and literary life. They were not merely publications but institutions that shaped and were shaped by the cultural, intellectual, and political currents of their time. These journals served multiple roles:

    They acted as repositories of high culture, preserving the intellectual and literary achievements of the era. Given the limited avenues for independent publishing, these journals were the primary platforms where established and emerging writers could reach an audience.

    State-Controlled Outlets. While they were crucial platforms for intellectual and artistic expression, it’s important to remember that these journals were often used to propagate official ideologies, and the works published in them usually underwent rigorous censorship.

    Academic Importance. For academics studying the Soviet period, tolstye zhurnaly offer a valuable glimpse into the state-sanctioned intellectual climate of the time. They provide context for how literature and intellectual thought evolved under different political and social conditions.

    Catalysts for Change. During more liberal periods, such as the Khrushchev Thaw and the perestroika years, tolstye zhurnaly could act as catalysts for change, pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable to discuss and publish.

    Explore all Thick Journals
  • Literaturnaia Gazeta Digital Archive

    Literaturnaia Gazeta Digital Archive

    Russia’s most popular newspaper among the intelligentsia.

    Established on April 22, 1929 with the support of the “father of Soviet literature,” writer Maxim Gorky, Literaturnaia gazeta (Литературная газета, Literary Newspaper) is a landmark publication in Russia’s cultural heritage. With its focus on literary and intellectual life, Literaturnaia gazeta allowed Soviet Russia’s preeminent authors, poets, and cultural figures a particular podium for commentary, affording perhaps fewer restrictions than might be possible in other publications. Literaturnaia gazeta was considered the most open among newspapers of the Soviet era, and it remains popular among the intelligentsia in today’s Russia.

    The Literaturnaia Gazeta Digital Archive contains all obtainable published issues from 1929 on (over 65,000 pages), with an additional year’s worth of content available for purchase on an annual basis. The archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-LG
    • Year First Published: 1929
    • Archive: 1929–2025
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: Weekly
    • Format: PDF, page-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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    More About Literaturnaia Gazeta

    In 1932 Literaturnaia gazeta became the official organ of the Union of Soviet Writers, the government-controlled organization which controlled most literary publications and the employment of writers in the USSR. In the post-World War II period, the scope of Literaturnaia gazeta expanded from an exclusively literary newspaper to more of a literary, social and political publication, becoming one of the most authoritative and influential publications in the country. As the press-run grew to 6.5 million copies in the 1970s and 1980s, it became the most popular newspaper with intelligentsia, who fondly dubbed it “Literaturka.”

    Literaturnaia gazeta was truly significant in the cultural life of the Soviet Union. While all officially published works were restricted in Soviet times, compared to the party-run Pravda and the government-run Izvestiia, Literaturnaia gazeta was more likely to push the limits of censorship in expressing views on social life and culture. Unlike many other Soviet newspapers, Literaturnaia gazeta refrained from simply re-publishing official party statements and resolutions. For those studying Russian, Russian literature, and comparative literature, Literaturnaia gazeta is undoubtedly an important resource: its pages carry literary criticism; excerpts from works of literature; articles on economics, sociology, ethics, daily life, scientific progress, etc. Contributors to Literaturnaia gazeta included the best prose writers of the era: Isaak Babel’, Mikhail Bulgakov, Veniamin Kaverin, Leonid Leonov, Yuriy Olesha, Boris Pil’nyak, Yevgeniy Zamyatin, and Mikhail Zoshchenko.

  • Krokodil Digital Archive

    Krokodil Digital Archive

    The leading satirical publication of the Soviet Era.

    Krokodil (Крокодил, Crocodile) was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. It was first published as an illustrated Sunday supplement to Rabochaia gazeta (Рабочая газета, Workers’ Newspaper; formerly Rabochii [Pабочий, The Worker]). The increasing popularity and circulation of Rabochaia gazeta, combined with the fact that many satirical voices were present in the widening pool of talented journalists, led the editors of Rabochii to establish a separate satirical issue to be circulated free of charge to the subscribers of the newspaper.

    The newly established supplementary issue satirized a host of issues and holdovers from pre-revolutionary Russia, including White Russian emigres, the Orthodox Church, bourgeois intellectuals, as well as diverse groups of social outcasts (moonshiners, black marketeers, etc.). After a three-month period of largely haphazard satirical writing, the supplement found its stride and honed its method of bringing its readers incisive satirical commentary. The success of the experiment among its growing readership would directly lead to the establishment of Krokodil as a separate publication on August 27, 1922. Bursting from its front cover was a snarling red crocodile, an avatar that has symbolized the journal and its brand of political satire ever since.

    Published continuously until 2008, Krokodil was at one time the most popular magazine for humorous stories and satire, with a circulation reaching 6.5 million copies. Krokodil lampooned religion, alcoholism, foreign political figures and events. It ridiculed bureaucracy and excessive centralized control. The caricatures found in Krokodil can be studied as a gauge of the ‘correct party line’ of the time. During the height of the Cold War, cartoons criticizing Uncle Sam, Pentagon, Western colonialism and German militarism were common in the pages of Krokodil.

    • Product Code: DA-KRO
    • Year First Published: 1922
    • Archive: 1922–2008
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: As published (varies)
    • Format: PDF, page-based
    • Producer: Infoteka
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    About the Archive

    Featuring the most complete set of the journal available (more than 2,740 issues), the Krokodil Digital Archive has been designed specifically to show the rich images found in these pages and provide the convenience of browsing full pages, similar to working with print originals. Full-text searchable tags have been carefully added to identify individuals and organizations within the artwork, where full-text searching would not normally find results. Thanks to this added value, users are able to search for people and organizations and find them not only within the articles, but also wherever they are represented in caricatures and drawings. The Krokodil Digital Archive is also cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka resources.

  • LEF Digital Archive

    LEF Digital Archive

    Iconic Soviet art journal that defined an era.

    In the wake of the Russian Revolution, the group “Left Front of the Arts” was formed in Moscow, bringing together creative people of the era—avant-garde poets, writers, photographers, and filmmakers, including Vladimir Mayakovsky, Osip Brik, and others. The group’s philosophy was to re-examine the ideology of so-called leftist art, abandon individualism, and increase art’s role in building communism. The group considered itself as the only representative of revolutionary art. In 1923 they founded the journal LEF (ЛЕФ [Левый фронт искусств], Left Front of the Arts), which was published until 1925. In 1927, it was succeeded by Novyi LEF (Новый ЛЕФ, New LEF) and published until 1928. Despite its short run of only 33 issues, LEF inspired entire movements and artists not only in Russia, but throughout the world.

    LEF served as a forum for intense debate, including manifestos, polemics and critical articles on photography, film, theater, architecture, and design. The journal encouraged experimentation with writing and promoted the idea of “factography,” or the use of language or art to describe or depict the realities of everyday life in the Soviet Union. The journal also championed photography and film as the most suitable forms for postrevolutionary art. The journal’s striking illustrations and covers, many of which were designed by the renowned artist and photographer Alexander Rodchenko, served as an alternative model for realism, challenging the grand, monumental style that was quickly dominating official Soviet art.

    The LEF Digital Archive comprises the entire collection of the 33 published issues, completely digitized for the first time (over 450 articles). The archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full-text articles with full page-level digitization and complete original graphics. The archive has searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other Infoteka digital resources.

    • Product Code: DA-LEF
    • Year First Published: 1923
    • Archive: 1923–1928
    • Language: Russian
    • Country: Russia
    • City: Moscow
    • Frequency: Quarterly and monthly (Novyi LEF)
    • Format: Full text and full image
    • Producer: Infoteka
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