![]() ![]() The Kubrickian opening of Space Dogs-an abstract vision from the perspective of a Sputnik capsule re-entering our atmosphere, in which the Earth’s rim is subsumed by a wild purplish flame that suggests damaged photographic film-effectively puts an end to canine space-faring romanticism. The dogs that took part in the Soviet Sputnik program-most famously Laika, a Moscow stray who became the first living being in space-are still heralded as heroes in Russia. Sporting a title that comes amusingly close to the title of one Air Bud sequel, Elsa Kremer and Levin Peter’s documentary Space Dogs should serve as an eye-opener to those who’ve learned to see humans’ best friends as furry little children. Our friends, surrogates, rescuers, confidants, nannies, and, occasionally, sports champions, dogs are often imagined by the cinema to be mostly mute, hirsute little people, capable of whatever they set their domesticated, house-trained minds to. Without really trying, it’s alternately enlightening, reaffirming, heartbreaking, and inspiring.īitches in Space: Remembering Soviet Russia's Fleet of Female Dog Cosmonauts.From Rin Tin Tin to Air Bud to, well, YouTube, the canine and the moving image have had a long and, we like to imagine, loving relationship. Rory Tolan, The Los Angeles Review of Books In her Technicolor tour of space-age propaganda and pop culture, Turkina shows just how deeply Laika dug herself into the Soviet imagination. The book an Aladdin’s cave of eye-batting oddments and kitsch curiosities enchants the reader with some 350 archival photos and images of arcane ephemera. The Stray Dogs That Became Soviet Space Heroes You could even smoke a Laika cigarette as you read a Belka and Strelka storybook to your children. It could be merchandise from a parallel universe in which our world is ruled by canine overlords. ![]() Instead of the usual heroic comrades peering from the spaceships' windows, chiselled jaws framed inside the bubble masks of their spacesuits, there are the furry faces of beaming dogs. ![]() ![]() 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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