Strukov V., Goscilo H. (eds.) Russian Aviation, Space Flight and Visual Culture

London: Routledge, 2016. — 314 p. — ISBN13: 978-1138951983 — (Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series)Among the many successes of the Soviet Union were inaugural space flight―ahead of the United States―and many other triumphs related to aviation. Aviators and cosmonauts enjoyed heroic status in the Soviet Union, and provided supports of the Soviet project with iconic figures which could be used to bolster the regime’s visions, self-confidence, and the image of itself as forward looking and futuristic. This book explores how the themes of aviation and space flight have been depicted in film, animation, art, architecture, and digital media. Incorporating many illustrations, the book covers a wide range of subjects, including the representations of heroes, the construction of myths, and the relationship between visual art forms and Soviet/Russian culture and society.Introduction: The aerial ways of aspiration and inspiration, or the Russian chronot(r)ope of transcendence • Vlad Strukov and Helena
GosciloArt and architectureEver onwards, ever upwards? Representing the aviation hero in Soviet art • Mike O'Mahony
Deineka's heavenly bodies: Space, sports, and the sacred • Helena Goscilo
Comic cosmonaut: Space exploration and visual satire in Krokodil in The Thaw • John Etty
Flying city or housing freed from gravity: Ideas of space travel and internationalism in G.T. Krutikov's City of the Future • Aleksandra Idzior
Neo-cosmism, empire, and contemporary Russian art: Aleksei Belyaev-Gintovt • Maria EngstromFilm, animation, and computer gamesSpecial/spatial effects in Soviet cinema • Birgit Beumers
Leaving the house of dreams: The myth of flight in Russian films of the 2000s • Julian Graffy
Animal aviators: Refashioning Soviet myths in contemporary Russian digital animation • Vlad Strukov
Screening aviation, mediating Afghanistan: Andrei Kavun's Kandahar • Anindita Banerjee
Simulating Sturm und Drang: Theorizing digital historization, commemoration, and participation • Vlad Strukov