The Library Acquires a Collection of Russian Zines

By Bogdan Horbal, Curator, Slavic and East European Collections
August 13, 2021

The New York Public Library has recently acquired a collection of 22 Russian zines. Below you can find descriptions of them written by Pavel Chepyzhov and Julie Kuliamzina. Contact staff in the Slavic and East Europe Collections for more information.

1. Nikita Shokhov. If Our President Was an Ordinary Man. Moscow: Samopal Books, 2018. [36] pp. 26,5x19 cm. Stapled covers. From the first edition of 75 copies.

This zine was published on the occasion of Ground Zine Fest which took place in April, 2018. It is a series of photographs of the author wearing a rubber Putin mask in different locations. This project serves as a reflection of society and more precisely the views of younger generations on Putin and his extraordinary separation from the people.

2. Lena Kholkina. Dark Zine: [Exploration of the Dark Side of My Everyday Urban Reality]. Moscow, 2017. [36] pp. 17x12 cm. The block is sewn together. Copy #27 of 35 copies. Signed copy.

This photo zine by Moscow photographer Elena Kholkina is dedicated to sexuality and relationships. Elena is the co-founder of the Russian Independent SelfPublished group, winner of the Rock Your Dummy! 2013 photo book contest, and recipient of the Urban Urge Seed Grant in 2014.

3. House Wife. What a Poor Lesbian Does When Her Girl Goes Away for the Weekend. Moscow: Sputnikat, 2017. [24] pp. 17x12 cm. Stapled covers. One of 131 copies.

This zine is written and designed by Sari Szanto, a Hungarian artis based in Moscow. The illustrations explore the collage technique.

4-6. Urbanfeminizm. Moscow, 2015-2017. 3 issues [and all]. #0, June 2015, 48 pp.: ill.; #1, October 2015, 48 pp.: ill.; #2, February 2017, 52 pp.: ill. 21x14,5 cm. Stapled covers.

Urbanfeminism was created by Uliana Bychenkova and Sasha Talaver. The main goal of the project was to connect research of the urban environment with activism and artistic practices. “We came up with the word ‘Urbanfeminizm’ but we didn’t come up with the problem itself. Within the project, we want to raise not only the research questions of the critical geography, sociology, urban planning, cultural studies which are derived from the women’s everyday life in the city but also to think about solutions to the problems: about activism and artistic practices, self-defense and the possibilities of cooperation between artists, researchers, and activists.” Within the project are discussions dedicated to general problems of gender and urban spaces, experience in risk-minimizing, strategies to fight violence back, sexual self-fulfillment in the patriarchal city, three masterclasses on female self-defense, a masterclass on feminist stencil graffiti (all in Moscow or St. Petersburg). These zines are a part of an initiative to raise questions and help women navigate the Russian urban environment. The zines include transcripts of live discussions, translations of foreign materials, instructions, articles, interviews, poems, and fiction. Among the topics are sexual abuse, LGBT issues, safety on the streets, fighting sexist advertising, mother-and-baby-friendly spaces and communities, queer geography, children in the city, self-defense and its legal grounds, women in prison, and more.

7. BUP: Biblioteka ubitykh poetov. St. Petersburg: Asf-Alt izdat, 2004. 25 pp. 21,0х14,5 cm. In illustrated wrapper. Copy #22 of 100 produced.

This zine is an extension of the exhibition ‘‘Library of Killed Poets’’ by St. Petersburg artist Grigory Katsnel’son. It’s dedicated to ‘‘poets killed by their own country,’’ i.e. poets who were politically repressed in the 1920s–40s. The zine includes a poem by each of the 13 included poets, among them famous names like O. Mandelstam, N. Gumilev, P. Florensky, and almost forgotten Geo Shkurupii and Magzhan Zhumabaev. ‘‘The time of terror is over but totalitarianism is still alive… BUP reminds, warns, and protects from a repeat of the catastrophe’’.

8-12. Ziny Poetov - Khudozhnikov . [Moscow, 2018]. #1: 36 pp.: ill. 27x21 cm; #2: [32] pp.: ill. 22,5x16 cm; #3: 24 pp.: ill. 29,5x18 cm; #4: 32 pp.: ill. 21x15 cm; #5: 36 pp.: ill. 24x18 cm. Separate zines in stapled covers, all originally packed in A4 envelope.

Published together with GROUND zine publishing and Samopal Books especially for Ground Zine Festival which took place in April 2018. Each zine includes information about poets and illustrators —all modern Russian poets and artists: Oleg Kulik (a famous Russian artist and performer), Dina Gatina (poet and artist), Daria Serenko (poet and social activist), Sasha Marshani (artist and designer, founder of Samopal Books), Oksana Vasyakina (poet and LGBT activist), Anastasia Levina (artist), Ilia Danishevsky (poet and opposition politician), Denis Larionov (poet), Katya Umnova (artist, Solyanka gallery art director). The artists and the writers took inspiration from the Russian avant-garde of the 1910s when books were created by the artist and the poet as equals. Here, as well, each zine also is created through an equitable collaboration between artist and poet.

13-15. Moloko Plus. Moscow, 2016-2018.

#1. Terrorism. 2016. 122 pp. One of 500 copies.

#2. Narkotiki [Drugs]. 2017: 162 pp. One of 666 copies.

#3. Revolutsiia [Revolution]. 2018: 180 pp. One of 666 copies.

21,5x14,5 cm. In illustrated wrappers.

Moloko Plus is a "DIY countercultural almanac" which is sponsored by private donations and sales. There is no advertising in the magazine which is in line with the creators' principle to not earn money from its publishing. To launch the magazine, creators used internet crowdfunding. Pavel Nikulin, a journalist whose work has appeared in The New Time, Snob, and Moskovskie Novosti, is behind the idea of the almanac in response to censorship in Russian media and certain topics being off-limits to talk about. Creating this samizdat project, he is attempting to fill the gaps in the taboo areas. Included are original articles by professional journalists, translated articles, and excerpts from published books. Each issue has an introduction from the editors, a table of contents, and a list of contributors. The general tone of the publications is very neutral. For example, in the Drugs issue, many of the stories are told from the point of view of Russian drug users who usually aren't given a voice according to "Moloko." This is a one-of-a-kind Russian almanac that stands in opposition to the main established media and explores much neglected and marginalized focus points of society. The presentation of the first issue in Moscow was raided by the police, but luckily no arrests took place.

16. Umyot Roadhouses. Photographs by Evgeniy Petrachkov. [N.p.]: Selfpublished, 2017. 200 pp.: photographs. 15,5x21 cm. In black cloth binding and illustrated dust wrapper. One of 100 copies. Text by Ilya Pilipenko. Text and captions in English.

This photo book explores roadhouses of the Umyot settlement in Mordovia, Russia as "in-between places where different realities meet." The area is locally known as the village with the largest number of road diners. In the settlement of 2,700 people, there are more than 500 cafes down the main highway that are spread out within 2 kilometers. The diners tend to have unusually creative names—one of the cafes named Morddonalds even got sued by McDonald's, after which it was renamed ‘Modrovins (a pun on the name of the area Mordovia). Originally these diners were built in the 1990s and survived the crisis, but today they face a decline in revenues and even possible demolition due to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. According to the authors, a part of post-Soviet history would disappear with them. Overall, the zine includes 95 photographs with a list of captions at the end of the book.

17. Olga Titova. Pride. Moscow: Polako Publishing, 2017. [96] pp. 21x17 cm. In wrappers with flaps. One of 200 copies.

A photo book dedicated to prints of animals caught on the streets together with the Russian people going about daily life in their “habitat.” Most of the photos were taken in the provincial towns of central Russia. The author doesn’t try to prove any points, but rather the contrast between the tiger clothing and the industrial landscapes of central Russia make an artistic appeal. The photobook was shortlisted for the Fuam Dummy Book Award (Istanbul, 2017), ViennaPhotoBookAward (2017), and PhotoBookFest (Moscow, 2017).

18. Zink Zine. Issue #1. [Arkhangel’sk], 2017. [32] pp. 33x22 cm. Stapled covers. One of 1000 copies.

This photo zine gathers images of ordinary people from the streets of Berlin, Prague, and Budapest, but mainly of St. Petersburg and Arkhangelsk.

19. Snesti nel’zia ostavit’ [Demolish Impossible to Keep]. Moscow: Russian Independent Self-Published, 2017. [64] pp. 21x15 cm. Brown covers with glued cutout on the front cover. The block is sewn together. Title and imprint in Russian and English.

This zine's title is an act of wordplay—depending on where the comma is put, the meaning of the title changes ("snesti nel’zya, ostavit" meaning "impossible to demolish, keep" versus "snesti, nel’zya ostavit" meaning "demolish, impossible to keep"). The zine is dedicated to the controversial program of renovation of housing in Moscow in 2017 which is a government project to resettle and demolish and resettle dilapidated low-rise housing stock built between 1957-1968 and begin new construction on these grounds. The program is designed to run for 15 years and, according to the results of the vote, more than five thousand houses will be demolished. It had a big public response both in favor and against. Through photographs, this zine explores the life of Moscow under renovation and particular communities of this old housing, mostly five store buildings (piatietazhka), also called "khrushchevka" after the State Secretary of the time of building, Nikita Khrushchev.

This was a collective project of "Let’s Do It: A Book About Moscow" workshop participants and curated by the Russian Independent SelfPublished team, a group initiated by three Russian artists: Natalia Baluta, Alla Mirovskaya, and Lena Kholkina “who prefer the freedom of self-publishing and promoting artist-made photo books to cooperation with traditional institutions.”

20. Poka guliaiut koty = While Cats Are Walking. Moscow: Russian Independent Self-Published, 2017. [64] pp. 21x15 cm. Red covers with glued cutout on the front cover. The block is sewn together. Title and imprint in Russian and English.

Like a previous zine created by the same collective, this book explores the life of Moscow ‘dvor’ [i.e. yard] and its inhabitants, including cats without whom it’s hard to imagine almost any housing in Moscow. Feeling how ephemeral the reality surrounding us and how dependent we are on external forces, whether government or nature, these photographs capture the moments of the ordinary life of the non-tourist Moscow resident. This was a collective project of the “Let’s Do It: A Book About Moscow” workshop participants and curated by the Russian Independent SelfPublished team.

21. Kameeellah. Gopnik Walk With Me: based on Real Events. Moscow: Sputnikat Press, 2018. 66 pp. 22x20 cm. Covers, perfect binding, with a die-cut design on the front cover. Printed on risograph.

"Gopnik" is a derogatory stereotype describing a particular subculture in Russia (analogies would be "thug" or "chav"). The name refers to the cult American film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me . The book tells “the tale of a chance encounter with some drunken ne’er-do-wells in the woods on the outskirts of Moscow. The resulting misadventures unfold through a gallimaufry of strange occurrences, experimental storytelling, and psychedelic imagery”.

22. Poganaia, poganaia azbuka [Crappy, Crappy ABC]. [Kiev: Eto zin, 2016]. [36] pp. 29x20,5 cm. Stapled covers. One of 100 copies.

This ABC zine was created by Ukrainian artist Sonya Trava (Umanskaya) and features an explanation and illustration for every letter of the alphabet. She mostly used modern slang and curse words as well as ordinary words which she found relevant, including racism and demagogue.