Pravda (“Truth”)
The newspaper Pravda was founded by Vladimir Lenin exactly 75 years ago. Today it comes out daily in six (eight on Mondays) pages. It has the fourth largest newspaper circulation in the USSR—over 11,000,000—but in influence it is second to none. It’s status as the central organ of the ruling communist party alone cannot explain its prestige. It has to be proved to the reader every single day. The barometer for the editorial office is the mail received from its readers.
Komsomoiskaya pravda is the daily of the Central Committee of the Komsomol (Young Communist League), the USSR’s largest youth organization. Published in all the constituent republics, the newspaper prints 13.6 million copies every day.
ECO is the economic and industrial construction journal of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The Novosibirsk-based monthly has 154,000 readers around the country.
Za rubezhom (Abroad), a weekly newspaper of the Union of Journalists of the USSR, publishes Russian translations of articles from the foreign press, giving Soviet readers the opportunity to see stories through the eyes of foreign journalists and statesmen.
The newspaper Sovetskaya kultura (Soviet Culture) covers cultural life in the USSR and abroad as well as sociological, educational, ethical and other questions. Published twice a week in eight pages, it has a circulation of 600,000 copies.
Izvestia, one of the largest national dailies, is an organ of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet. Established in March 1917, the newspaper has a circulation of 6.7 million.
Rabotnitsa (Working Woman) is a leading magazine put out by Pravda Publishers. It carries articles on a wide range of topics of interest to women. It has a monthly circulation of over 16.5 million.
Chelovek i zakon (Man and Law) is a popular monthly published by the USSR Ministry of Justice. One of 32 Soviet periodicals in the field of law, it has a circulation of 10,213,000 copies.
Literaturnaya gazeta (Literary Gazette) is a weekly newspaper published by the USSR Writers Union. It has a circulation of three million.
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The logotypes above were scanned from a May 1987 issue of SOVIET LIFE, a propaganda tool by mutual accord between the US and the USSR:
The magazine SOVIET LIFE is published by reciprocal agreement between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union. The agreement provides for the publication and circulation of the magazine SOVIET LIFE in the United States and the magazine AMERIKA in the Soviet Union.
The issue includes an article on Press Day celebrations taking place on May 5th, the day Pravda was founded by Vladimir Lenin in 1912. Subsequently, various Soviet newspapers are highlighted.
Yes, this is a departure. Some of these marks demonstrate little quality design chops but they are all intriguing from a historic perspective nonetheless.
I now have 3 copies of SL and will be sharing more visual bits and historic information regarding this unique publication in coming weeks.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I love logos, very good post!