A Soviet Youth

One day the owner of a French bookstore in Moscow met a Russian man who showed him some frames of a ‘comic strip’ style graphic novel he had begun, and told him his life story. He asked the shop owner to support him so he could complete his work. The shop owner agreed, and each month paid the man a stipend. Once the work was completed, the bookstore owner translated the comic strip into French. Thus was born “A Soviet Youth” (Une jeunesse sovietique) by Nikolai Maslow. It is worth noting that there were no precedents of Russian comic strips- the work was spontaneous and groundbreaking.

When the bookstore owner asked Maslow if he planned another book, his gave an astonishing response. “No”, he replied, adding that he had already said all he had to say.

RED invites you to read this deeply moving work of a youth immersed in the Russian cold and in alcohol. Maslow spent the early stages of his life in Siberia, and performed his military service in Mongolia. He earned his living performing manual labour jobs while maintaining his creative passion. He experienced some dark times spent drowning himself in alcohol, and while confined to a psychiatric institution.

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