ABSTRACT
With the strengthening of the Soviet Union a new type of book came to replace the earlier forms and formats of avant-garde print culture: the so-called parade album. At the latest with the Writers' Congress of 1934, indeed, avant-gardists were subjected to new guidelines that drove on key notions such as “Narodnost,” “Klassovost,” “Ideinost” and “Tipichnost.” The new doctrine stipulated that from here on all artistic creations should be close to the people. Key representatives of the avant-garde such as Gustav Klutsis, El Lissitzky, Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova became active for state publishing houses, working on different magazines or books. They were supposed to demonstrate that only the Soviet Union followed the right political path and that its economic upswing was linked to a social upswing. By working for state publishing houses, the avant-gardists secured their livelihood and were offered an opportunity to continue artistic work on paper. Nonetheless, working for state publishing houses only offered limited protection from state sanctions. Printed works frequently disappeared from libraries or were mutilated, among others by erasing representations of personae non grata, either by tearing out pages from already printed books or journals or by blackening or cutting out the corresponding images.
