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[SOVIET PROPAGANDA IN KYIV AND KHARKIV DURING WWII] Yosyf Vissarionovych Stalin: korotka biohrafiya [i.e. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin: Concise Biography]

Item #2548

Kyiv; Kharkiv: ukrayinsʹke derzhavne vydavnytstvo, 1944. 76 pp.: frontispiece. 21,5x14,1 cm. In owner’s cardboard binding with original wrappers preserved. Stamp of the “Library of the University of California” on the verso of the front board, “WITHDRAWN” stamped on the insides of the cardboards, doublet fund stamps of the “Library of the University of California” on the front wrapper, “Gaylamount Pamphlet Binder” label on the recto of the rear board. Previous owner’s pencil inscriptions on the wrappers and the title page, but otherwise in a very good condition.

Scarce. First edition. Text in Ukrainian.
An important Ukrainian imprint and a notable example of Soviet wartime propaganda, presenting a concise biography of Joseph Stalin and printed in Kyiv and Kharkiv in 1944. The edition was likely intended to boost morale, reinforce loyalty to Stalin, and strengthen patriotic sentiment during the final year of World War II. The biography came out shortly after Kyiv and Kharkiv were liberated from German occupation, helping reestablish Soviet political and cultural authority in cities left devastated by the Nazis. Our copy likely belonged to a local resident and survivor of the Nazi occupation who purchased it in a city shop soon after liberation.

Price: $350.00