The lost art of punch card decoders

Мы любим всё - и жар холодных числ, И дар божественных видений, Нам внятно всё - и острый галльский смысл, И сумрачный германский гений…

We love cold numbers’ hot illumination, The gift of supernatural vision, We like the Gallic wit’s mordant sensation And dark Teutonic indecision.

Alexander Blok: The Scythians, 1918, translated by K. Dowson

We were working on children’s New Year matinee (a travel with a magic book of fairy tales) and, when rummaging through the old books, discovered a beautiful EC decoder from the 80s, colored with pastel pencils in a very similar style to our magic book, with the beautiful girlish characters.


I was able to find just one other example on the net, a lot less artistic and obviously boyish.


There must have been thousands of them made in the compu science schools across the Comecon and maybe in the West too, but - are they all lost to time?

To recall how this was supposed to work, I had to look up EBCDC punch coding rules (which actually perfectly match the more familiar ASCII over this group of characters)


The instructions turned out to be very simple, and I even made my own demo “punch card”, using a printer and a razor blade. The embedded slide show below should show all the gory details (but you may have to start the slide show over). As you thread the card through the sleeve, one column after another comes into view in the decoder’s narrow slit. The top three rows (0, 11, and 12) may have up to one hole, and you follow a band of color from there, to the level of an additional punch in rows 1 to 9 (For example, the very first column is punched in row 12 (aha, the blue band!) and in row 8 (it is "H"!) . Use the right-hand side of the decoder if there is only one hole in the rows 1 through 9. If there are two holes there, then one of them should be in row 8, where a little arrow on the decoder instructs you to switch to the left-hand side.

Some non-alphanumeric symbols made me gasp too. Like ¤ … yes, this thing is indeed used instead of a dollar sign, and it’s been invented by Italian telecommunication officials even before the dawn of the computer age, to serve as a “universal currency symbol” instead of the politically tainted $. In 1964, the Working Group on Alphabets of the CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee, a body of the International telecommunications Union) made ¤ an international standard character code, to a great delight of the dollar-hating Eastern Block members. It wasn’t even supposed to be a printable character at first, just a placeholder for different currency symbols of the member nations, but then the computers and the EC OC came along, and the non-entity got its own life. (Actually, Wikipedia claims that this Sun-disk with 4 rays already existed in Cretan Linear A and Linear B scripts, supposedly standing for the number 1000?)

And now, ¬, the logical negation symbol, mostly giving the people of my generation some vague memories of Assembly language, but still known to today’s youngsters because of the Theory of Knowledge course of the International Baccalaureate school curriculum.

The punch card itself is a ghost from the past, it’s century-plus history in warehouse orders, transportation fare-cards, and, finally, computer programming all but forgotten. The last we still remember may the inglorious tale of hanging, swinging, and pregnant chads from the 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida (I remembered it quite vividly when my own razor-cut chads went swinging and hanging!)

But the art of deciphering the codes of the past lives on, and the poetic beauty of the numbers is eternal!

Александр Дольский. Арифметика Однажды 2/12 позвали 3/13: – Пойдемте, 3/13, пройдемся вечерком. – Ах, что Вы, 2/12, – смутились 3/13, – Увидят 5/15, что Вы со мной вдвоём. – Пусть видят 5/15, – сказали 2/12, – Мне это, 3/13, поверьте, все равно. Пусть знают 5/15, – сказали 2/12, – Что я Вас, 3/13, люблю уже давно. – И я Вас, 2/12, – сказали 3/13, – Пройдемте, 2/12, подайте мне пальто. Ну что нам 5/15, ну что нам 6/16, Ну что нам 7/17 и даже если 100!

Aleksandr Dolsky Arithmetics Once 2/12 asked 3/13. Let’s go, 3/13, let’s take an evening walk. Ah, 2/12, said the shy 3/13 5/15 may see the two us together May 5/15 see, said 2/12. Believe me, 3/13, it doesn’t make a difference for me. May 5/15 know, said 2/12 That I love you, 3/13, for a long time already And so do I, said 3/13 Let’s go, 2/12, please give me my jacket. Why would we care about 5/15, why would we care about 6/16 Why would we care about 7/17, and even about 100!

Забытое искусство декодеров перфокарт

Мы любим всё - и жар холодных числ, И дар божественных видений, Нам внятно всё - и острый галльский смысл, И сумрачный германский гений…

Александр Блок. Скифы, 1918

Мы готовились к детскому новогоднему утренику (путешествие с волшебной книгой сказок), И, пока мы рылись в старых книгах в поисках сюжетов и иллюстраций, на глаза вдруг попался такой странный объект прикладного искусства - декодер перфокарт начала 80-х годов, раскрашенный пастельными карандашами в стиле, во многом перекликающимся со стилем нашей волшебной книги, с красивыми девчачьими буквами


На сети я смог найти лишь один-единственный пример такого декодера, значительно менее художественный и, безусловно, мальчишеский.


А ведь когда-то их должны были быть тысячи, по всем странам СЭВ, да наверно и на Западе тоже … неужели их всех поглотило безвозвратное время?

Чтобы разобраться, как эта штуковина должна была работать, мне пришлось разыскать таблицу кодировки перфокарт EBCDC (IBM/360, крестная мама ЕС ОС) (на самом деле эта таблица полностью совпала с более привычной ASCII в данной группе символов)


Конечно, правила оказались очень простыми, и я даже сделал свою собственную демо-перфокарту с помощью принтера и лезвия бритвы. Слайд-шоу демонстрирует все технические детали (только, скорее всего, вам придется начать показ слайд заново). По мере того, как вы протаскиваете перфокарты сквозь рукав декодера, колонка за колонкой появляются в его узкой прорези. В трех верхних рядах (0, 11, 12) может быть не более одного отверстия. От его позиции, следуйте по цветной полосе до уровня дополнительной дырки в рядах с 1-го по 9-й (например, самая первая колонка моей перфокарты пробита в 12-м ряду (ага, синяя полоска!) и в 8-м ряду (значит, это “H”!). Правой стороной декодера пользуются, если есть только одна дыра в рядах 1-9; а если там два отверстия, то одно из них должно быть в восьмом ряду, где маленькая стрелочка на декодере указывает вам, что тогда надо переключиться на левую сторону

Некоторые из нестандартных символы поначалу поставили меня в тупик. Например, ¤ ... да, эта штуковина действительно изпользовась вместо знака доллара, а придумали ее итальянские работники телекоммуникационного ведомства еще до зари компьютерной эры, чтобы использовать его как “универсальный символ ваюты” вместо политически запятнанного $. В 1964-м году, Рабочая Группа по Алфавитам CCITT (Международного Телеграфно-Телефонного Консультативного Комитета, подразделения Междунородного Союза Телекомминикаций) сделала ¤ стандартным символом, к большой радости доллароненавистников из СЭВ. Сначала этот символ даже не предплогалось использовать в печати, это была просто условная замена национальных символов валют стран-участниц, но потом пришли компьютеры и ЕС ОС, и несуществующий знак получил право на самостоятельную жизнь. (Вообще-то Википедиа утверждает, что такой значок из солнечного диска с четырьмя лучами уже существовал на древнем Крите в Линейном письме А и Б, и предположительно означал цифру 1000?)

А этот знак, ¬, означает логическое отрицание, и напоминает людям моего ппоколения разве что о программировании на Ассемблере, но даже и сегодня молодежь с ним бывает знакома, благодаря курсу Теории Знания из школьной программы системы Международного Бакалавреата.

Да и сама перфокарта давно превратилась в призрака ушедших дней. Её болле чем столетняя история в складских заказах, билетах на транспорте, и, наконец, в компьютерных технологиях почти позабыта. Последнее, что мы еще припоминаем - эта бесславная история “недопробитых перфорационных отверстий” времен фиаско с президентскими выборами во Флориде в 2000-м году (мне она живо припомнилась, когда мои собственные прорезанные бритвой прямоугольнички остались качаться на двых углах или свисать на одном уголке!)

Мо искусство расшифровки кодов прошлого продолжает жить, и поэтическая красота чисел - бессмертна!

Александр Дольский.
Арифметика

Однажды 2/12 позвали 3/13:
– Пойдемте, 3/13, пройдемся вечерком.
– Ах, что Вы, 2/12, – смутились 3/13, –
Увидят 5/15, что Вы со мной вдвоём.

– Пусть видят 5/15, – сказали 2/12, –
Мне это, 3/13, поверьте, все равно.
Пусть знают 5/15, – сказали 2/12, –
Что я Вас, 3/13, люблю уже давно.

– И я Вас, 2/12, – сказали 3/13, –
Пройдемте, 2/12, подайте мне пальто.
Ну что нам 5/15, ну что нам 6/16,
Ну что нам 7/17 и даже если 100!

Trinidad

One could ask the question again: when were these pictures taken? But we already know that we must be careful. A careful fading throws back by decades even the photos taken yesterday, especially if nothing changed during these decades. And yet how much has changed! The images of Cuba, which we would have watched twenty years ago with the solidarity of the elder brother and ten years ago with the contempt of the western relative, now, at the end of the year of 2011 convey to us the soothing feeling of safety and invariability. And in the meantime the two men perhaps did not even stand up from the doorstep.

The Albufera

Map of the Albufera of Alcúdia in 1851, as it was before the civilizing intervention of J. F. Bateman and the Majorca Land Company

The main channel of the Albufera opened by J. F. Bateman and the Majorca Land Company
to lead out to the sea the water of the streams flowing into the lagoon

Tourist map of Mallorca. The Albufera is marked with green under the flag of the island.

Soon, in mid-January, when the feasts of Saint Anthony – on which we have already written – arrive, the Albufera of Alcúdia will give again its (already almost negligible) share of the island’s eel consumption. This delicacy is an equally indispensable part of fideos cooked in clay pots, of the paellas made on open fire in the night of the feast, and, above all, of the espinagades (see the video) prepared with much red pepper and fresh spinach on the day of Saint Anthony in Sa Pobla. It is in this coldest time of the year that the eels arrive after their long and mysterious travel from the Sargasso Sea to the island, and creep inland along the channels of the albufera, to which the former Arabic population gave the name  az البحيرة al-buhayra, “the little sea”. And it is then that they finally have the size required by the chefs of the island.


On land, even if a swampy land, every inch is measured and has its owner, and the animals of these waters, including the eel, are a forbidden prey to the fishermen whose territory is the open sea. And the peasants, who in the autumn hunt here with long-handled reds, filats the thrushes passing from north to south through the island (video), in January “harvest” (this is the term they use; cf. video) the eels swarming in the lagoons. The albufera is the land of the farmer, not of the fisherman. And the animals of the albufera, the heavy buffalos splashing in the lagoon, the large number of birds – coots, mallards, mergansers, moorhens, stilts, sandpipers, swamphens, herons… – which come and go, as well as the eels and other fishes living in the lagoons are considered to belong to the farmer just as the rice grown by him in the shallow margin of the albufera, the marjal.

The rich but unhealthy territory of the albufera was more or less a common treasure of the local villages until “the English” arrived at mid-19th century. Around the same time the Revista de Obras Públicas characterized the Albufera as “an extensive and gloomy reed land, in whose mist there hovers he dreadful image of death.” At that time the albufera was twice as large as now. The famous engineer John Frederick Latrobe Bateman, “the greatest dam-builder of his generation” won the concession to exploit the natural resources of the zone in exchange for executing his ambitious project of drying and sanitation of the marshland. From this moment on the lagoon began to be domesticated, but it never paid the huge investment, especially because a large part of the cultivated land became salty and infertile. Even so, only twenty years ago on a good night they could still catch – harvest – over two tons of eels.

The plan of drainage and sanitation of the Albufera, by J. F. Bateman and the Majorca Land Company

Today you cannot find any more “rates de marjal”, those “swamp rats” which lived only on rice, and from which in Sa Pobla the fabulous “rat with onion” was made. However, they are still hunted in the albufera of Valencia, where they are prepared as arròs amb rates de marjal (paela with swamp rats) or an espardenyà “worthy of a prince” according to Vicente Blasco Ibáñez in his Cañas y barro (1902).

The chimney of the power plant of Es Murterar among the reeds, at the edge of the lagoon. The heat generated by it has been used for years by a fish drying plant established next to it.

The former traditional agriculture and wildlife in Mallorca has been systematically destroyed for several decades by the urbanization and tourism forced beyond all limits. The typical raw materials of the kitchen of the island in transformation are nowadays import vegetables, hormone-treated meat, frozen Japanese eel and any other tempting fruit of the tree of progress.


The Mallorquine workers participating in the pharaonic drainage enterprise of the Majorca Land Company, often complained about the conditions imposed on them. When winter arrived with heavy raining, they started to sing this hardly inspiring work song:

Ja comença a fer gotetes i es torrent que ja se'n ve: Mal s'endugués s'Enginyer, es taulons i ses casetes!

The first drops of rain have arrived, the stream started to grow: May the devil take the engineer, the boards and the barracks!

Leaving the Albufera towards Artá, and passing by Son Real, we cross the estate Son Serra de Marina with its once solemn, now semi-abandoned buildings. But that is another story and another devastation.

Albufera

Plano de la Albufera de Alcúdia en 1851, tal como era antes de la intervención civilizadora de J. F. Bateman y la Majorca Land Company.

Canal mayor de la Albufera abierto al mar por la compañía inglesa de J. F. Bateman, la
Majorca Land Company, para conseguir que el caudal de los torrentes
que desaguan en la laguna saliera al mar.

Mapa turístico de Mallorca. La Albufera de Alcúdia está marcada con verde bajo la bandera de la isla.

Dentro de poco, cuando a mediados de enero lleguen las fiestas de San Antonio —sobre las cuales ya hemos escrito un par de veces— la Albufera de Alcúdia dará de nuevo su cuota —ya casi ínfima— de anguilas a la isla. Entrarán en las cazuelas de fideos, en los arroces, cocas y, sobre todo, con abundante pimentón picante, en las espinagades (ver vídeo) de Sant Antoni, en Sa Pobla. En el momento más frío del año, las anguilas que se han colado tierra adentro por estos canales, bordeando una costa urbanizada hasta el absurdo y tras haber hecho un inimaginable viaje órfico desde el Mar de los Sargazos, tendrán por fin el tamaño que quiere el cocinero.


En tierra, aunque sea tierra pantanosa, cada palmo se mide y tiene propietario, y los animales, anguila incluida, no pueden ser ya patrimonio del pescador cuyo territorio es el mar abierto. El payés, del mismo modo que en otoño caza los tordos desplegando los «filats» (ver vídeo) en olivares y collados, cosecha (este es el verbo que ellos usan: ver vídeo) las cestas de anguilas en el frío de enero. La albufera es tierra del campesino, no del pescador. En la albufera, junto a los pesados bueyes que chapotean en la laguna, junto a la cantidad de aves —fochas, patos reales, serretas, gallinas de agua, cigüeñuelas, lavanderas, calamones, garzas...— que van y vienen con las estaciones, están también esas anguilas y algunos otros peces que se deslizan por los canales, y que son tan del campesino, como el arroz que cultiva en sa marjal.

El espacio rico pero insalubre de la albufera, era —más o menos— una comuna hasta que llegaron «los ingleses» a mitad del siglo XIX. En aquellas fechas la Revista de Obras Públicas definía la Albufera como unos «dilatados y tétricos cañaverales en cuyas brumas se cernía la pavorosa imagen de la muerte». La albufera duplicaba por entonces su tamaño actual. El famoso ingeniero John Frederick Latrobe Bateman, «the greatest dam-builder of his generation» obtuvo la concesión de explotación de los recursos naturales a cambio de ejecutar un ambicioso proyecto de desecación y saneamiento de las aguas. Este fue el momento en que la albufera comenzó a domesticarse, aunque nunca se rentabilizó la enorme inversión realizada, sobre todo a causa de la salinización de gran parte de la zona de cultivo. Con todo, hace solo veinte años, en una buena noche de invierno aún podían recogerse —cosecharse— más de dos toneladas de anguilas.

Plano de la intervención de saneamiento y desecación de la Albufera diseñado por J. F. Bateman y la Majorca Land Company

Tampoco quedan aquellas «rates de marjal», que solo se alimentaban de arroz y con las que se hacía en Sa Pobla un fabuloso guiso de «rates amb porros». Parece que todavía se caza alguna en la albufera de València, y se cocina allí de vez en cuando un arròs amb rates de marjal o una espardenyà «digna de un príncipe», según dictamen del novelista Vicente Blasco Ibáñez en Cañas y barro (1902).

La chimenea de la central térmica de Es Murterar asoma entre las cañas, en un
extremo de la albufera. Aprovechando el calor que genera, hace años que
funciona a su lado una piscifactoría.

En esta isla tan metódicamente destruida estamos ya condenados a las verduras transgénicas, la carne hormonada, las anguilas japonesas y cualquier otro fruto tentador del árbol del progreso.


Los trabajadores mallorquines que participaron en el faraónico empeño de desecación de la Majorca Land Company, acabaron quejándose de las condiciones impuestas y de la desproporción de la empresa. Cuando llegó el invierno, y con él amenazaban las peligrosas lluvias torrenciales, empezaron a cantar:

Ja comença a fer gotetes i es torrent que ja se'n ve: Mal s'endugués s'Enginyer, es taulons i ses casetes!

Ya empiezan a caer algunas gotas y el torrente a crecer: ¡Mal se lleve al ingeniero, a los tablones y a las barracas!

Saliendo de la Albufera hacia Artá, y pasado Son Real, cruzamos la «possessió» de Son Serra de Marina, con sus solemnes casas hoy semiabandonadas. Pero esta es otra historia y otra devastación.

A happy Christmas / Una feliz Navidad

Probably the church of the Arab Catholic village of Eilabun in Galilee is the only one in the world whose Orthodox iconostasis was made by a Jewish icon painter, Sergei by name. In the town of four thousand inhabitants – whose name was made worldwide known by Hishram Zeiq’s 2007 film on the massacre of Eilabun committed by the Israeli troops in 1948 – they celebrate on Christmas afternoon the festive parade opened by the band of the Arab scouts and ended by that of the Jewish scouts. Photos by Nakaryak. Turn on the video at least for a background music.

Probablemente, la iglesia del pueblo católico árabe de Eilabun, en Galilea, sea la única del mundo cuya iconostasis ortodoxa ha sido hecha por un pintor de iconos judío, de nombre Sergei. En esta ciudad de cuatro mil habitantes —que se hizo famosa internacionalmente en 2007 cuando Hishram Zeiq estrenó su película sobre la matanza de Eilabun, cometida por las tropas israelíes en 1948— celebran en la tarde de Navidad un desfile encabezado por la banda de los «scouts» árabes y cerrado por la de los «scouts» judíos. Fotos de Nakaryak. Vale la pena activar el vídeo al menos como música de fondo mientras veis las fotos.

Nakaryak/Рыжий, the author of the original Russian post has notified us in a comment that the scouts whom we have considered Jewish on the basis of their green ties (and who carry the Israeli flag) are just as Arab as those with the yellow-white ties. In the version of the post which he published on the Ботинок portal he also quotes another Russian post on the Arab inhabitants of the village, which we will try to translate and publish soon.

“He was born when light began to grow”

Moscow, yesterday

That is, on 21 December. True, since then it became known from those documents of the Tsarist police which he failed to destroy after coming to power that he was born in fact three days before the solstice, on 18, but the growing number of his believers continue to celebrate the anniversary on 21, as it should have been.

When reading Russian news, blogs and comments, or speaking with former Russian friends, it is almost tangible to what extent the nostalgia for Stalin is growing Russia-wide. I have referred to it a few times here in the blog, and have often thought to write about it when an occasion – the erection of a new statue of Stalin, contemporary church icons representing him, the stalinobus traveling around the Ukraine and Russia with the portrait of the Generalissimus for a month before this 7 November, the neo-Stalinist literature growing on Russian pirate sites – offered the chance, but somehow I could never induce myself to do so. However, after yesterday’s birthday parade I decided not to delay any more. Let us read here on this occasion an essay by the internationally appreciated historian Roy Medvedev, which I have wanted to translate since it appeared in the 15 April issue of Московские Новости.


“I see that the production of biased pseudo-historical literature is increasing in the country, including books in praise of Stalin and Stalinism, which fell short of any scientific criteria. Fashionable is the outright propaganda of Stalinism and an open denial of any crime Stalin might have committed. The repression of the 1930s is again due to the existence of a fifth column in the country, and they proclaim that the show trials of 1936-38 only came down on the real enemies of the people – such as Bukharin and Zinovev. The existence of unjustified repression is simply denied. And they make this in the greatest agreement with the then chief prosecutor of investigations, Vyshinsky.

Most of the allegations and evidences in these books are based on the versions of the Stalin era. For example, if they write about Marshal Tukhachevsky, they take for granted his interrogation protocols of 1937 – which include confessions wrung by torture. Or they say, for example, that “only” 800 thousand people were shot in consequence of the decisions of the courts, when in fact several millions (!) of people were shot “out of court”, as it was called at that time. They also deny the post-war repressions and anti-Semitic campaigns. “Stalin has been a great political leader”, they say, and virtually all his mistakes and guilt are denied and/or justified.

The manipulations of the protocols and documents of that time give the illusion of authenticity. In fact, however, all the books of the “Stalinist” series simply restore the fakes of that time.

One time I even purchased these books – I try to get to know the standpoint of the opponents –, but then gave it up. What argument can you say to an author who even now denies the responsibility of Stalin and Beriya for the massacre of Katyń? Therefore I can only state the fact that this is a deliberate lie.

Erection of a statue in Zaporozhe, 18 November 2011

I consider this series as a speculation on the historical illiteracy of the population (as the young generation is definitely illiterate in this regard). Its publication is done on a political order. I find it difficult to judge whose order it is, since no studies have been made on this. But I see that the Exmo and related publishers are responsible for it.

A couple of years ago they released my book on Nikita Khrushchev. They seemed to have consented to its publication because the book is somewhat critical to Khrushchev [who had condemned Stalin – the translator]. Subsequently, however, they point-blank rejected my proposal to publish my book “What did Stalin read? Literature in the totalitarian society”. The rejection had a principle reason. As an employee of the publisher has openly declared: “This book does not match our views.” Later in a TV reportage I met a director of a branch of Exmo. When I asked him why one cannot know anything about the fate of my book, he at least revealed that much: “Look, we will never publish this book.” Then I quickly took the book to the “Human Rights” publisher, where it came out and was quickly snapped up.


Whoever I know there – I will not mention names – are ideologically committed people, as it is clearly reflected in their public declarations. The publisher’s argument that the “Stalinist” series is a mere business, as this kind of literature sells well, is easy to refute by the fact that anti-Stalinist literature also sells well. The demand for historical literature is increasing, the young generations want to know their history. And this interest could be met in another way, too: not only with forgeries, but also by the publication of real history books.

They of course say that these are not forgeries, but “different perspectives” which try to “improve” our history, to liberate the young generation from the inferiority feeling that “we live in a miserable country”. However, one can only be critical of this position. History cannot be “improved”, history is as it is. History can be only explained. Our history had dark and bright pages, achievements and sins, and all this requires an objective and worthy presentation.


A debate has already flared up on the internet about the “Stalinist” series. It is interesting that none of the participants require the publication of such books to be banned, or their immediate withdrawal and destruction. This is already the merit of modern times – at Stalin’s times they decided simply and quickly about the books representing different political views. Let us rejoice that our country and society is changing in this direction.

But the government and public institutions should also assume a role to some extent in this change for the elaboration of a national ideology. Without such an ideology, a government simply does not exist. After all, this exists everywhere, in America just as well as in Europe, Kazakhstan or Belorussia. You may not agree with it, but it’s there. But here it seems as if our government did not want to participate in the social discussion on destalinization.

I do not understand, for example, who is responsible for issuing high school history books. In the Ministry of Education and Culture diametrically opposite tendencies coexist. I personally have no definite answer on how the government should react to this situation, but the bigger problem is that the Academy of Sciences and the History Institute does not have, either. There are no initiatives, no call for public debate and for seeking the truth and the relevant solutions.

Obviously, this is a base literature, but scientists should restrain their disgust and explain to the readers how, from what and they were composed. You cannot simply ignore their existence.

Stalinobus

It is not honest to simply proclaim that these books meet a mass demand. For this demand is also shaped by the publisher, which deliberately develops a distorted image on the past of the country. It follows that the government – if they are at all interested in destalinization – should set a host of other books, films, publications, TV programs against the forgeries, to present the facts and the current state of research. To publish popular, but not yet empty literature. For it is possible to write books which are easy to digest, but tell the truth. And most importantly, the state should clearly indicate on whose side they are.

On the basis of my experiences with the leaders of this country I must think that they do not want to get involved in this debate, at least do not want to make clear statements about it. The chinovniks behind the scenes also fear to get involved, either because they do not dare to show their incompetence, or in order not to conflict with the will of the authorities. Once I was invited for the all-Russian conference of history teachers. There was a debate on which school history books we need. Putin and Surkov [the most important gray eminence – the translator] arrived for the final session. In the friendly table talk with the teachers, the former stressed the importance of “a good history book”, but he did not deliver an opinion on the content of this book, and told nothing on his personal relationship to the most important historical problems.

In recent years we have heard some declarations from Putin and Medvedev against Stalin, but they have never converted it into their consistent practice. Word is one thing, acts are another. The reason of their doing so is inconceivable to me.”


The “Stalin’s Renaissance” and “Stalinist” series (so far approximately 20 titles) have appeared in joint edition of Exmo and Yauza since 2007. Their titles are revealing on their ideological position and quality: “Handbook of Stalinism” “Stalin before the tribunal of the dwarfs”, “Beriya: the best manager of the 20th century” (one of the most popular titles in the series, published in eight editions in three years). The editorial practice of Exmo was in the focus of public attention just in this week, thanks to the public debate launched on the site of the “Snob” project. The radical participants of the debate called for the boycott of all the publications of Exmo, including the works of Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Victor Pelevin and other successful authors, as long as Russia’s largest publisher does not stop the publication of books glorifying Stalin and Stalinism. Director General of Exmo, Oleg Novikov has claimed that he acts within the frames of law and the logic of the market, and he stresses “to meet the demands of the readers without censoring them” (from an interview recently published in the Kommersant). Lyudmila Ulitskaya, the author of several works on the holocaust and the dissidents of the former Soviet Union, replied on the invitation to stop her cooperation with Exmo that “she does not support such categorical and radical positions”, and asked “not to be forced into a situation where she would be unable to publish her works”.

A Facebook forum has been recently opened with the title “Прекратите издавать сталинистские книги/Stop publishing Stalinist books”, and its participants plan to soon organize a round table meeting on this topic.”

“And the redeemer shall come” (Terminator: Salvation)