May Celebrations in the Soviet Union
Moscow: Inturist, 1931. Item #1504
One leaf folded as a 16-page brochure. Folded: 22,5x15,5 cm, unfolded: 63x45 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Creases slightly worn, small tears to spine (in folded mode).
Striking photomontage advertisement of May tours to the USSR offered by the official traveling agency of the Soviet Union, Intourist. In English.
Front cover design contains a photomontage of the mausoleum, military and sports parades synonymous with “the great May Day celebrations”. Other photographs of rallies by Soviet people, city decorations, slogans and an air force parade are montaged within two forms: a silhouette of the mausoleum and a letter M, which supplements the advertising text.
Strictly a propaganda opportunity, May Day in the USSR turned into a recognizable celebration associated with the country and its ideology. For Soviet people, this annual holiday presented a chance to demonstrate the most relevant socialist artworks and inventions; hold mass concerts, shows and sports competitions; and organize the special decoration of every institution and enterprise.
By the end of the first Five Year Plan which saw rapid industrialization, “the Soviet Union was opening wide its doors to its [foreign] guests for the 1931 celebrations and Intourist was lowering its rates in order that the greatest number of visitors would have the opportunity of seeing what was being archived in the sphere of culture and economics in the USSR”. These tours lasted 6–11 days and included visits to “interesting and unique social institutions, art treasures, places of historic interest and industrial concerns in Moscow and Leningrad”.
This is also evidence of the period when most pre-WWII tours to the USSR started in the Belarusian village of Negoreloye, on the border between the Soviet Union and Poland. Five of six tours were organized through Negoreloye, all involveed visiting Moscow, and could be complemented with visits to Leningrad, Kiev and Odessa.
Not found in Worldcat.
Price: $2,500.00