Stalin Childhood and Adolescence Leonidze 1942 Сталин Детство Отрочество Эпопея

Леонидзе Г. Сталин. Детство и Отрочество. Эпопея. Книга первая. / Перевод с грузинского Н. Тихонова; Графическая орнаментация и оформление книги Н. Ильина.
Тбилиси : Заря Востока, 1942.
178 с. Твердый издательский художественный переплет, уменьшенный формат.
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Leonidze, Georgiy. Stalin: Childhood and Youth. An Epic. Book One. / Translated from Georgian by N. Tikhonov; Graphic ornamentation and design by N. Ilyin.
Tbilisi : Zarya Vostoka, 1942.
178 pp. Hardcover, small format. In Russian.

This 1942 wartime edition is a landmark work of Soviet hagiography by the prominent Georgian poet Georgiy Leonidze, published in Stalin's native Georgia during the most critical period of the Great Patriotic War. The book represents the first part of a grand epic intended to mythologize the early years of Joseph Stalin, tracing his childhood in Gori and his youth in Tbilisi within a lush, poetic framework that draws heavily on Georgian folk traditions and heroic imagery. Translated into Russian by the acclaimed poet Nikolai Tikhonov, this version allowed the narrative to reach a vast pan-Soviet audience, reinforcing the leader’s image as a figure of destiny at a time when his leadership was the central pillar of national resistance. The text provides a deep typological analysis that offers a deep dive into the internal logic of the "Stalinist myth," including the arrangement of idyllic scenes of Georgian nature and the early signs of revolutionary awakening portrayed through the lens of socialist realism.
The physical production of the book is an exceptional example of wartime publishing, featuring elaborate graphic ornamentation and overall design by the master of Soviet book art, Nikolai Ilyin. Despite the severe material shortages of 1942, the volume was produced with high artistic standards, utilizing folk-inspired motifs and decorative headpieces that lend the epic a ceremonial, almost liturgical quality. The small format was chosen for its portability, making it a "soldier's book" that could be easily distributed among the troops to boost morale. This 1942 imprint from the "Zarya Vostoka" publishing house remains a primary source for the study of the cult of personality and the intersection of national identity and imperial ideology in the Soviet Caucasus during the war years.