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[GOELRO Constructivism] Dniprelstan: Populiarnyi vyklad z istorychnoiu mynuvshynoiu tsoho kraiu ta iliustratsiiamy [Dniprelstan: A Popular Account, with a Historical Survey of the Region and Illustrations]

KOLOMENSKYI, D.; ALEKSANDROV, Ivan

Item #2905

Kharkiv: Derzhavne Vydavnytstvo Ukrainy for Komitet Spryiannia Dniprelstanovi pry VUTsVK, 1930. 50, [2] pp.: ill., with folding map measuring 21.5×59.5 cm [8 1/2×23 3/8 in.]. 21.5×15 cm [8 1/2×5 7/8 in.]. Original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Wrappers rubbed; traces of library stamps and pen markings to the wrappers, title page, and p. 17; otherwise in good condition. One of 10,000 copies. In Ukrainian.

A contemporary illustrated account of the construction of Dniprelstan, the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, one of the major Soviet industrial projects of the First Five-Year Plan. The book combines a popular technical description of the dam and power station with a historical survey of the surrounding region and includes a large folding map.
The co-author Ivan Gavrilovich Aleksandrov (1875–1936) was the chief engineer of Dniprelstan and the author of the plan ultimately adopted for the project. Aleksandrov proposed the construction of a single large dam capable of producing maximum power while also improving navigation on the Dnieper and supporting the development of new industrial centers. The project required the flooding and resettlement of numerous settlements and involved foreign specialists, particularly American engineers. The architectural treatment of the power station was developed with the participation of Alexander Vesnin (1883–1959).
The wrappers are especially notable for their Constructivist design, with the title arranged in a curve recalling the course of the Dnieper. The cover is monogrammed “L.Verbitsk.” and can with some confidence be attributed to Lazar Verbytskyi (1905–1941), a Kharkiv graphic artist who headed the design department of the newspaper Visti and worked for major Ukrainian state publishers. The composition, typography, and restricted palette closely resemble other Soviet state-publishing designs of 1929–1931; Verbytskyi’s securely attributed cover for V. Atamaniuk’s Za Zbruchem hrozy was likewise published by the Ukrainian State Publishing House in 1930.
The publication reflects the early stage when Dniprelstan was promoted not only as an all-Union industrial achievement but also as a major Ukrainian project. By the early 1930s, as Ukrainization was curtailed, official representations increasingly presented the dam primarily within the broader Soviet industrialization narrative.
Rare despite the stated circulation. Not recorded in the National Bibliography of Ukraine or KVK. WorldCat records one copy in Germany; another copy is included in the permanent virtual exhibition of the State Historical Museum, Moscow (GIM 112491/14).

Worldcat doesn’t show any copies in the US.

Status: On Hold