May 15, 2024

The Power of the Zine


The Power of the Zine
"The Unknown Person" is Anna Dial's publication company.  Anna Dial archive. 

Russian artists have dealt with government censorship for centuries. Even famed poet Alexander Pushkin had to have his work signed off on by Tsar Nicholas I, because the autocrate feared Pushkin's influence during the unstable years following the Decembrist Uprising.

Soviet artists and writers created a system of publication and distribution known as "samizdat" ["self-publishing"] through which great works such as Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago and Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich were distributed domestically and sent to publishers abroad ("tamizdat" – "publishing over there"). 

Anna Dial, who was born in Kamchatka but has lived in Montenegro since the outbreak of the war in Ukriane in 2022, follows in this tradition. In 2018, Dial created a publishing house called "The Unknown Person" (Neizvestny Chelovek) to produce her art in the form of "'zines." Dial described her zines as something "between a book and an art object," containing comics by Dial and stories or poems by her collaborators. Her comics feature feminist heroes, frank and humorous depictions of bodies, and everyday realities of womanhood.

Dial began to draw comic books inspired by the atmosphere of war in 2022, yet found that they were immediately removed from store shelves or banned from the galleries where she worked. She decided to turn to the methods of her artistic forebears and began publishing her work on her own. 

Since the war began, censorship in Russia has drastically increased, so Dial's collaborators began anonymizing their work and more closely monitoring their distribution network. Dial emphasized the importance of keeping physical copies of their work: "You see, social networks can disappear at once – some of them are now blocked in Russia – but the zine will remain there, as it stood on the shelf." In the future, Dial hopes for an archive memorializing this time in history, as it was seen by samizdat artists. 

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955