Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Societies

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures......Page 9
Preface......Page 11
Notes on Contributors......Page 12
1 Introduction: What Does 'Space Culture' Mean in Soviet Society?......Page 18
2 Space is the Place! Writing About Soviet Space Exploration......Page 27
Part I: Spirituality, Transcendence and Soviet Utopianism......Page 38
3 Introduction to Part I......Page 40
4 The Conquest of Space and the Bliss of the Atoms: Konstantin Tsiolkovskii......Page 44
5 Into the Void: Philosophical Fantasy and Fantastic Philosophy in the Works of Stanisław Lem and the Strugatskii Brothers......Page 59
6 The Contested Skies: The Battle of Science and Religion in the Soviet Planetarium......Page 74
Part II: Remembering Space, Constructing Heroes......Page 96
7 Introduction to Part II......Page 98
8 Memories of Space and Spaces of Memory: Remembering Sergei Korolev......Page 102
9 The Heroic and the Ordinary: Photographic Representations of Soviet Cosmonauts in the Early 1960s......Page 120
10 'Let's Find Out Where the Cosmonaut School Is': Soviet Girls and Cosmic Visions in the Aftermath of Tereshkova......Page 138
11 The Regional Dimension of Space Propaganda......Page 156
12 Propaganda of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Cosmonautics: The Experience of Russian Regional Non-Governmental Organizations......Page 168
Part III: Performing Space in World Politics: Communications and Mediality......Page 182
13 Introduction to Part III......Page 184
14 Sputnik Goes to Brussels: The Exhibition of a Soviet Technological Wonder......Page 187
15 Soviet Cosmonauts and American Astronauts in Yugoslavia: Who Did the Yugoslavs Love More?......Page 205
16 Children and the Cosmos as Projects of the Future and Ambassadors of Soviet Leadership......Page 223
Part IV: Space in Popular Culture......Page 244
17 Introduction to Part IV......Page 246
18 A Dream Come True: Close Encounters with Outer Space in Soviet Popular Scientific Journals of the 1950s and 1960s......Page 249
19 Space Exploration in Russian and Western Popular Culture: Wishful Thinking, Conspiracy Theories and Other Related Issues......Page 268
20 Two Images of a Spaceman in Estonian Art: The Missing Myth of a Hero and the Fable of Failure......Page 283
Epilogue: From Utopia to Nostalgia......Page 298
21 From Cosmic Enthusiasm to Nostalgia for the Future: A Tale of Soviet Space Culture......Page 300
Select Bibliography......Page 324
Index......Page 332