Tag: magazines

The Library has acquired the Ogonek Digital Archive 1923-2017.

Ogonek is one of the oldest weekly magazines in Russia, having been in continuous publication since 1923. Throughout its illustrious history Ogonek has published original works by such Soviet cultural luminaries as Vladimir Mayakovsky, Isaac Babel, Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the photographer Yuri Rost, and others. It first saw the rise of its stock under the editorial guidance of Mikhail Koltsov, a star Soviet reporter, who oversaw the growth of Ogonek from a readership of 25,000 in 1923 to nearly half a million within a mere two year period, turning it into one of the most influential and widely read Soviet publications of the period. Its popularity was left intact even after Koltsov’s arrest on the eve of the WWII in 1938. It is safe to say however, that the magazine would not become the cultural force it became, were it not for the editorial tenure of Anatoli Sofronov, the noted Soviet poet and playwright. Under Sofronov’s at times controversial and at times bromidic leadership Ogonek became an important outlet for some of the most well-known and respected Soviet writers, visual artists, photographers and reporters. Although under Sofronov Ogonek grew steadily, it came to experience the peak of its popularity at the hands of its new editor Vitaly Korotich, who assumed the editorship of the magazine after the passing of Sofronov in 1986 at the height of Perestroika. Korotich, inspired by the newfound political liberties turned the journal into a lively space for edgy political commentary, criticism, and satire. After undergoing financial and creative crisis in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which saw a steep decline in readership, Ogonek has now rediscovered its creative zest under a new leadership and management, once again becoming an important forum for cultural and political intellectual exchanges.