Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union from the Revolution to the Death of Stalin

Posters and photographs from the David King collection covering the years from the revolution 1918 to the death of Stalin 1953. Unique and handsomely reproduced. The text is limited to provide the necessary historical context, just the right length, with a bibliography and index. Not to be missed if you are interested in the political history of the Bolshevik revolution and the Stalinist era and its expression in the brilliant posters produced in that time (which did not save some artists, among them one of the most prominent, Gustav Klutsis, to be imprisoned and shot).

The photos chosen are mostly pretty good, it just didn't really grab me. It sort of avoids art mostly outside of designs on journals and propaganda posters so the art is not super top quality. The choice of photos also avoids photos of every day life mostly and there's few photos of major events and buildings and stuff so it's sort of a weird mix that just didn't appeal to me. Also the view of Soviet history is a bit naff but that's typical.

I recommend this if you're interested in the art of the period at all, just didn't really grab me