Soviet Space Graphics: Cosmic Visions from the USSR by Alexandra Sankova Phaidon Book

This otherworldly collection of Soviet space-race graphics takes readers on a cosmic adventure through Cold War-era Russia. Created against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, the extraordinary images featured, taken from the period’s hugely successful popular science magazines, were a vital tool for the promotion of state ideology. Presenting more than 250 illustrations — depicting daring discoveries, scientific innovations, futuristic visions and extraterrestrial encounters — Soviet Space Graphics unlocks the door to the creative inner workings of the USSR.

The author

Alexandra Sankova is the director and founder of the Moscow Design Museum, which was established in 2012 with the mission to record, preserve and promote the design heritage of Russia. She has curated and co-curated a number of exhibitions at the museum that have toured internationally, including Soviet Design 19501980 (2013), Discovering Utopia: Lost Archives of Soviet Design (2016), which received the Utopia Medal at the London Design Biennale in 2016, and History of Russian Design 19172017 (2017), among many others. Sankova is the author of 23 (2010), co-author of Designed in the USSR: 19501989 (2018) and VNIITE: Discovering Utopia Lost Archives of Soviet Design (2018) and co-produced the four-part Russian television documentary History of Russian Design (2018).

The Moscow Design Museum was founded in 2012 and is the first cultural institution in Russia specifically dedicated to design. Its main objective is to preserve and popularize Russian design heritage at home and abroad. In September 2016, the museum’s Russian exhibition at the first London Design Biennale was awarded the Utopia Medal for its entry, ‘Discovering Utopia: Lost Archives of Soviet Design.’

Hardcover, 11 x 8 in., 240 pages, 267 illustrations

ISBN: 9781838660536