Description
USSR Uzbekistan - A Soviet-Era Photographic Journey (English Photo Album)
!!! Condition of this book is USED VERY GOOD, as pictured, some underlining in the text !!! SUPER RARE BOOK, with amazing real life pictures from Soviet Uzbekistan in 1960's!
Product Information
- Product Type: Photo Album/Photography Book
- Genre: Travel/Geography/Cultural Documentation
- Language: English (with Russian and Uzbek elements on cover)
- Format: Softcover
- Publisher: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic publishing authority
- Publication Date: 1967
- Pages 88
Overview
"Uzbekistan" is a visually rich photo album offering Western audiences a captivating glimpse into the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet period. Through carefully curated photography, the album showcases the natural landscapes, architectural wonders, cultural traditions, and economic achievements of Uzbekistan. With "Two Hundred and Fifty Days of Sunshine" as its opening chapter, this photographic journey invites viewers to explore Central Asia's crown jewel, from the ancient Silk Road cities to modern Soviet developments. The text accompanying the images presents Uzbekistan as a flourishing republic transformed through socialist progress, highlighting its historical significance and contemporary achievements within the framework of the Soviet Union.
Product Features
- Visual Focus: Primarily a photographic work with supporting text in English
- Chapter Organization: 17 thematic sections showcasing different aspects of Uzbekistan
- Size: Standard Soviet-era photo album dimensions
- Photography: Professional documentary-style images capturing landscapes, architecture, people, and culture
- Cover Feature: Includes the Shakhi-Zinda ensemble of mausoleums
- Political Context: Contains Soviet ideology markers, including the slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" in three languages
- Comparative Geography: Compares Uzbekistan's size to combined European countries for Western context
Interesting Facts
Architectural Treasures
The album prominently features Uzbekistan's stunning Islamic architectural heritage, including the Shakhi-Zinda necropolis (featured on the cover), the Registan square in Samarkand, and other monuments along the ancient Silk Road. These structures, with their intricate blue tile work, massive portals, and geometric designs, represent some of the finest examples of medieval Islamic architecture in the world. The Soviet government invested considerably in preserving these monuments while simultaneously presenting them as part of the multicultural Soviet heritage.
Cultural Narrative
The chapter "No Life Without Songs and Poems" reflects the deep importance of artistic expression in Uzbek culture. Traditional Uzbek music employs unique instruments like the dutar (two-stringed lute) and doira (frame drum), while incorporating maqam systems of composition that blend Persian, Arabic, and Turkic influences. The Soviet approach to local culture typically involved preserving "folk forms" while adapting content to align with socialist values, a tension subtly evident throughout the album.
Modern Transformation
Images contrasting traditional and modern Uzbekistan were a standard feature of Soviet publications about Central Asia. This photo album likely includes striking visual juxtapositions of ancient monuments alongside new Soviet constructions, traditionally dressed elders next to modern youth in Soviet attire, and centuries-old farming methods alongside modern industrial agriculture. These visual narratives supported the Soviet development story of bringing modernity to previously "backward" regions.
Contents
The photo album features 17 thematic sections:
- Two Hundred and Fifty Days of Sunshine
- Of People and Customs
- Two Pages from History
- Equal Among Equals
- What Else Besides Cotton
- Made in Uzbekistan
- A Plantation in the Desert
- Flooded with Sunshine
- Of Planes and Trains
- Tale of One City
- A Glance into the Future
- Land of Students
- No Life Without Songs and Poems
- A Few Words More About the People
- Every Fifth One is a Sportsman
- This is Something Worth Seeing
- The Journey Continues
- At Home and Abroad
Each section presents a visual story accompanied by explanatory text that frames the images within Soviet interpretations of Uzbekistan's development, culture, and place within the Union.
Publishers
Published under the authority of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic's state publishing apparatus. The book was created for international distribution as part of Soviet cultural diplomacy efforts, designed to present a positive image of Soviet achievements in Central Asia to English-speaking audiences.
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