My overall impression of the latest photo album from Jonglez, the title of which could be a quote from my own autobiography (I defected from the Soviet Union in early 1990), can be summed up in just one word: ‘Stunning!’
‘Abandoned USSR’ by Terence Abela (Jonglez, £29.99, ISBN 9782361955106) elicits memories of history’s bloodiest attempt at collective happiness, a project that lasted for over 70 years before its spectacular – and fortunately fairly bloodless – collapse 30 years ago.
Yes, the USSR, with all its hopes – true and false – officially ceased to exist three decades ago on 31 December 1991, and a whole new generation now separates us from it. Memories – like any recollections, whether tragic or happy – are petering out slowly but surely, and not just in the West. In Russia itself, most younger people find it hard to remember who Lenin, the USSR’s hapless founder, was and would struggle to say what such typically Soviet abbreviations as kolk...