Produced in the USSR in the 1950s, this collection of memorabilia looks like any other haul of space-race propaganda – until you notice that something's not quite right. The pointed nosecones of satellites sparkle on lapel badges and postage stamps, while further galactic adventures are enacted across the lids of biscuit tins. Petersburg.Ī streamlined space rocket streaks across the starry sky on a packet of Soviet cigarettes, trailing triumphant slogans, while another spaceship soars past planets on a commemorative plate. Text by Olesya Turkina, Senior Research Fellow at the State Russian Museum, St. This book uses these ephemeral items to illustrate the poignant tale of how the unassuming Soviet Space Dogs became legends. Images of the Space Dogs proliferated, reproduced on everyday goods across the Soviet Union: cigarette packets, sweet-tins, badges, stamps and postcards. Subsequent canine space travellers, Belka and Strelka, were the first to return alive, and were immediately featured in children’s books and cartoons. Her death a few hours after launching was used to transform her into a symbol of patriotic sacrifice. On 3 November 1957, Laika was the first Earth-born creature into outer space, giving her instant global fame. All of them formerly homeless on the Moscow streets, they fitted the necessary profile: small, robust, placid and able to withstand the punishing preparations for space flight.
This book is dedicated to the dogs who were crucial to the success of the early Soviet space programme.
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