Russian life

In October 1956, a new English-language magazine “USSR” appeared in the newsstands of major US cities. Given the level of anti - communist sentiment among US society, the name under which the journal was published was not the most favorable and successful. The magazine was edited by Enver Mammadov , a polyglot , a native of Baku , who had the honor of being one of the youngest Soviet diplomats when he was appointed press secretary of the Soviet embassy in Italy in 1943 . Enver Mammadov also worked with the main witness from the Soviet prosecutors, Friedrich Paulus, during an international tribunal in Nuremberg. ^{[1] [2] [3]} .

Meanwhile, in the newsstands of Moscow , Leningrad , Kiev and other cities of the USSR , the second debut of America magazine took place. The first issue of America magazine was published in 1944 , but in the late 1940s, the Department of State began to feel that the radio and Voice of America were more effective propaganda tools, so the publication of America was suspended in 1952 ^[4] . However, in 1956, the American and Soviet governments agreed to exchange magazines. Thus, “America” was revived and began to be published again in exchange for the publication of the “USSR” in the USA . The circulation and conditions of distribution of the magazine "America" in the USSR were limited. Buying it freely at Union Print Kiosks was very difficult.

The simultaneous appearance of these magazines was the result of an intergovernmental agreement, one of several intercultural agreements designed to develop trust between countries in the midst of hostile hostility to international politics. However, no one ever doubted that each magazine was conceived as a propaganda tool in favor of its publisher government.

A few years later the magazine "USSR" changed its name to "Soviet Life". Although the magazine never printed open propaganda, it defended the line of the USSR government . Nevertheless, “Soviet Life” sought to provide objective information about Russian culture , history , scientific achievements, about the various peoples inhabiting the largest country on Earth , though only from the good side.

In accordance with the terms of the intergovernmental agreement, the circulation of both magazines was limited for many years to about 30,000.

In the late 1980s , in connection with political and economic reforms in the Soviet Union , interest in Soviet life increased - the readership grew to more than 50,000.

In December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist and, accordingly, the Russian government could not find the money to finance the publishing house "Soviet Life". The latest issue of Soviet Life was published in December 1991 .

A little more than one year later, in early 1993 , on the basis of an agreement between the Novosti press agency and Rich Frontier Publishing, Soviet Life was reborn into Russian Life. The magazine began to be published twice a month (whereas previously Sovetskaya Zhizn was a monthly magazine) and continued to print, albeit with an irregular schedule, due to funding difficulties.

In July 1995, a private company from Vermont Russian Information Services, Inc. acquired all rights to Russian Life. Originally published as a monthly magazine, the magazine soon changed to a more realistic schedule, and now comes out every two months, six times a year. Since 1995, RIS has published over 100 issues of Russian Life. Today it is a 64-page color magazine filled with stories about history , culture and life in the largest country in the world ^[5] . In October 2011, the magazine celebrated its 55th anniversary.

• Official site of the magazine "Russian Life" (English)
• Several issues of "Soviet Life" (English)