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[SINCLAIR IN RUSSIAN] Manassa: Povest’ o voyne [i.e. Manassas: A Novel of the War]

Sinclair, U.

Item #2530

Leningrad; Moscow: Petrograd, 1924 (front wrapper indicates 1925). 252, [2] pp. 19,7x13,7 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Near fine. Vertical fold mark on the front wrapper. Professional restoration of the spine and the front wrapper, Soviet bookshop stamp on the rear wrapper and its recto.

Scarce. 1 of 5,000 copies. Text in Russian. Translated from English by I. Kharodchinskaya. Original printed in 1904.
The very first Russian translation of Upton Sinclair’s historical fiction novel “Manassas,” published in the Soviet Union in 1924.
The novel deals with the American Civil War, tracing a young Southerner’s moral awakening and condemning the institution of slavery. This theme was highly favored in the USSR, as it underscored the injustices of the United States while promoting the Soviet ideal of equality for all races.
The front wrapper, skillfully reflecting the book’s message, depicts an African American man pursued by a dog. The design was created by Russian Soviet decorative and applied artist, graphic artist, and illustrator Evgeniy Belukha (1889–1943). Belukha studied at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute (1909–1910) and attended the Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1912–1913). A versatile master, he worked in easel, book, and applied graphics, illustrating books for major Soviet publishers including Gosizdat, Priboi, Academia, and Lenizdat.
A committed socialist, Upton Sinclair was regarded as one of the most prominent American novelists in the USSR. His works, particularly The Jungle, Oil!, and Boston, were translated and published in large print runs throughout the 1920s-30s, and he was celebrated as a close ally of the Soviet regime. Soviet critics praised him as a “proletarian writer” whose social realism aligned with Marxist ideals. Interestingly, Sinclair’s works were sometimes used in Soviet educational programs to illustrate capitalist exploitation and the struggles of the working class. His advocacy for social reform at home in the United States was highlighted in the USSR as evidence of his ideological alignment. By the late 1930s, however, his attitude began to shift. He grew increasingly skeptical of Stalinist policies, particularly after the purges and show trials, and began to temper his praise of the Soviet Union. Despite this, his books continued to circulate widely in the USSR, and he remained a notable figure in Soviet literary discussions into the 1950s.
No copies found in Worldcat.

Status: On Hold