Why Was Tolkien Banned in the USSR? Cold War DOCUMENTARY

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Our historical documentary series on the history of the Cold War continues with a video on why Tolkien and the Lord of the Rins were banned in the USSR.
What Happened to the German and Japanese POWs?: • What Happened to the G...
Operation Paperclip: • Operation Paperclip - ...
German Expulsions: • German Expulsions Afte...
Soviet Education System: • Soviet Education Syste...
How Khrushchev Fed the Soviet People: • How Khrushchev Fed the...
Novocherkassk Massacre 1962: • Novocherkassk Massacre...
Soviet Tourism: • Soviet Tourism: How di...
Soviet Passport System: New Serfdom or Reform?: • Soviet Passport System...
Kaliningrad: How Russia Got a Stronghold in Europe: • Kaliningrad: How Russi...
How the Soviets Won the Early Space Race: • How the Soviets Won th...
Soviet Television and Radio: • Soviet Television and ...
Top-5 Myths About the Soviet Union: • Top-5 Myths About the ...
Sources:
Shevchenko N., 28 June 2021. Why bringing ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to the USSR was a quest akin to a fiction tale. www.rbth.com/history/333944-l...
Merriner J., 24 July 2021. Comrades of the Ring. How Soviet artists evaded censors to create their own visions of Tolkien. foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/24/...
Lobarev L., 3 January 2017., The Lord of the Rings in the USSR. The story of the first translation by Zinaida Bobyr. www.mirf.ru/book/vlastelin-ko...
Hooker M., 2003. Tolkien Through Russian Eyes. Walking Tree Publishers
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#ColdWar #Tolkien #Documentary #LordOfTheRings #Hobbit #SovietUnion #USSR

[@TheColdWarTV]

If you are craving fantasy and sci-fi content, check out our sister channel - Wizards and Warriors: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXjGiZd3r9lkjcU

[@shatnermohanty6678]

I don't know if you have covered Raduga publishers but it would be great if you did . Most educated households of India have books of the Raduga publishers which were huge in India during the Soviet era . I have read quite a lot of them , even though the USSR had gone by that time . I would request you to please make a video on Soviet publications in India like Misha , Sputnik , Raduga and Mir publishers 🙏

[@kgbfiles5713]

I didn't expect to hear the names of Alina Nemirova and Valeria Matorina on this channel. The first is a well-known Tolkien fandom / RPG movement figure in Ukraine and founded the annual thematic festival I attended in 2007. The second lived in my hometown and I have many common acquaintances with her.

[@TheColdWarTV]

this can be a very very small world!

[@catinthehat906]

@@TheColdWarTV Speaking of small worlds, I looked after Natalya Grigoryeva, Vladimir Grushetskiy and a couple of other translators when they came over to attend the Tolkien Conference held at Oxford University in 1992. I think one of the reasons they came was to seek official sanction from Tolkien's family to do the official Russian translation of his work. Your video helped me understand why they thought there were so many problems with previous Russian translations. We did a trip down to the Ridgeway in south Oxfordshire to visit Wayland's Smithy, commonly thought to be the inspiration for the Barrowdowns in LOTR and we also visited Warwick Castle. I always remember their reaction to going to a British supermarket in Aylesbury. They were such lovely people.

[@jimmyjasi-anti-descartes7088]

Thanks for mentioning Stanislaw Lem. The best visioner and realist Homo Sapiens bore so far

[@marijusp]

I grew up in Soviet Lithuania and remember reading Hobbit several times. It was fascinating book. At the time I didn't even know that there are other books written by Tolkien, because LOTR wasn't available in Lithuania.

[@alexgainsborough4921]

Не знаю, чего там у вас не было - а я, в СССР и книгу видел, и слушал радиоспектакль Властелин Колец - Евгений Леонов был чтецом.

[@marijusp]

@@alexgainsborough4921 kad pas jus buvo kur nors Leningrade ar Maskvoj, nereiškia kad buvo ir Lietuvoje. Be to, kaip suprantu Žiedų valdovo knygos buvo išleistos tik rusų kalba, lietuviškai jos buvo išleistos tik atgavus nepriklausomybę.

[@valentinstoyanov304]

I can testify that "Lord of the Rings" was very popular in Bulgaria too and it was legal in the late 80s for sure. As to "The Master and Margarita" - it is the greatest piece of literature I've ever read.

[@bluemoondiadochi]

I remember clashing with my high school teacher cause I claimed and defended my claim that Tolkien was a better writer than M. Krleža (a genuis writer in his own right and the best writer Croatia literature ever had). i got an F but never wavered, which was very atypical of me. Once you're into Tolkien, that's it. To Krleža's defence, he is a genius writer that i got to appreciate later in life as i got serious, but he keeps it dedicatedly realistic, while Tolkien's wisdom is universal and religious. I love both but Tolkiens works are my home port.

[@jesenjin8467]

Dobar.

[@PP266]

Let's be realistic who the heck knows Krleža outside Yugoslavia? :)))

[@drlca6601]

The Hobbit is one of the finest books ever written, but I actually didn't like LOTR books. The movies were obviously incredible and I watch them yearly. Despite not enjoying the LOTR books themselves, I own the definitive Tolkein Bestiary by David Day and recently found it after it lay untouched for years in a box after a move. Tolkein was a genius and quite unparalleled.

[@digitalnomad9985]

"never wavered, which was very atypical of me. " Don't sell yourself short. If there is something you would stick to your guns about despite great cost, you have integrity. There are just not that many things you care about as much as Tolkien. Not every hill is worth dying on.

[@bluemoondiadochi]

@@digitalnomad9985 Thank you. This one was indeed worth it.

[@Drunken_Master]

As a ten years old kid in communist Yugoslavia in the 80s, I was not allowed to borrow Lord of the Rings since the librarian deemed that the book was not suitable for children. I learned about the Middle Earth from games on C64.

[@pac1fic055]

An iconic home computer.

[@Valeriy1004]

Wish you could talk about two biggest Lord of the Rings fanfics published in Russia - The Last Ringbearer and Black Book of Arda - but those fall squarely into post-Cold War territory. Anyway, waiting on you to cover both American and Soviet sci-fi writers. It would be interesting to see your takes on Strugatsky brothers and their Noon Universe.

[@jankopransky2551]

Oh, I am gonna find those and practice the hell out of my russian!

[@lionheart1234]

What are they about?

[@SamuraiAkechi]

@@lionheart1234 They both turn the stories upside down. The Last Ringbearer takes the LotR story as if the Tolkien's narrative was done by conservative elves and rulers of Gondor in order to demonise the technologically developed Mordor (which is populated not with orcs, but with other humans). The central conflict is not good vs evil, but science vs magic, and the author, Kirill Yeskov, takes the pro-science position. BBoA, written by Natalya Vasilyeva tells the story of Melkor and tries to explain his original motivations.

[@lionheart1234]

@@SamuraiAkechi Cool! Ty!

[@SamuraiAkechi]

@@lionheart1234 actually, there's another huge russian fanfic that got official release, The Ring of Darkness by Nik Perumov - a fan continuation of LotR that takes place 300 years later.

[@varana]

"Was Mordor meant to represent an industrialised and powerful Eastern nation fighting against the Western powers, ruled by hereditary monarchies?" I mean, they did have a point there, whatever Tolkien may have said.

[@Darkdaej]

Maybe, but it says much that they read the work and projected themselves as Mordor as a matter of course... Could be that they saw parallels between themselves and Mordor, didn't like them and like all good cultists, promptly banned the work so people wouldn't come to the same realization they did...

[@uniboss5519]

Tolkien described Orcs as looking like corrupted Mongols type people, so it's pretty obvious what Tolkien based his works on lol

[@Darkdaej]

@@uniboss5519 How are they anything like "Mongols-type people" (Mongoloid)? The description says: "They were generally squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, bow-legged, with wide mouths and slant eyes, long arms, dark skin, and fangs." So because of the sallow skin and slanted eyes, they're automatically supposed to be representative of "mongoloids"?

[@JonatasAdoM]

You flared up my imagination. Mordor wants to take over the free peoples of Europe, the Elves are fleeing to North America and the nations of the East are corrupted to ally themselves with Sauron. Sauron also took over power after his previous leader was eliminated from the picture. I'll need some time to purge these ideas from my head.

[@ProleCenter]

Exactly.

[@Keefan1978]

Thanks! A small addendum regarding censorship in the Soviet Union: in the beginning of the video it is correctly stated that censorship tightened again during the Brezhnev era, yet it is worth mentioning, that it did not mean a return to the Stalin era in a very conclusive point - whereas during the Stalin time the contents of a literary work decided if it would be allowed to be published or not, then in Brezhnev era it was more and more about the author as also the censors didn't neither really believe in their own work anymore nor were they frightened enough. And so it was up to the translators to sort of 'paint' the Western authors they wanted to be translated, to a more positive color, which made it possible to publish good and contemporary Western authors despite the formal tightening of the censorship screws. So, the tighter the system, the more it all was just pro forma, and made some small unintended liberties possible.

[@sejarahnow4991]

"Evil cannot create anything new, it can only spoil and destroy what good forces have invented or created" - J.J.R Tolkien

[@krellio9006]

"南京大虐殺は決して起こらなかった" - J.J.R Tolkien

[@RunninUpThatHillh]

diversity, inclusion, equity. see the acronym.

[@alexgainsborough4921]

Sejarah NOW So you're saying, that the death camps were invented by the forces of good?

[@krellio9006]

@@alexgainsborough4921 oof reading comprehension dude. Maybe you should improve that.

[@RunninUpThatHillh]

@@alexgainsborough4921 do death and indifference sound new to you?

[@masterimbecile]

Now this is a guy who knows what he’s TOLKIEN about.

[@TheColdWarTV]

*Ba-dum tsing*

[@tpark2316]

Very clever, now say you're sorry lol

[@JonatasAdoM]

Fool of a Took!

[@pirx9798]

I was waiting for what he'll come up with for the bell button. It was so fitting and funny.

[@gerdforster883]

The important point in the censors' assesment is not that the book was against the principles of socialist realism (after all, a lot of books were published that were not in line with socialist realism), but that it was pessimistic. And they were right. The Lord of the Rings IS pessimistic. It describes the end of the elves in Middle-Earth. Yes, there is a happy end for the humans, but with the coming of the Age of Men, the magic leaves the world. The Soviet Union followed their version of historic materialism as their central historigraphic tenet. As history progressed, conditions were supposed to improve. Oh, and the name "Baggins" is - according to Tolkien - already a translation from Westron, so it is translated in many versions. In the (west) german translation, Frodo's last name is Beutlin (from "Beutel"=bag).

[@charlesramirez587]

Yeah Tolkien was a pseudo primitivist so his condemnation of artificialization of nature for industrial means would be a direct no-no for any pure material philosophy on the face of it.

[@Darkdaej]

or "Saquet" in French (which sounds like "sac", which means bag)

[@julianshepherd2038]

Maybe they just hate Hobbits. Smug little twats.

[@JonatasAdoM]

Baggins is also translated to bag in Portuguese (though somewhat embellished). Bag End is literary big bag in Portuguese. What I love is that just like in English you don't get the impression he's Frodo Bag.

[@JonatasAdoM]

@@Darkdaej Haha. The Sackville-Bagginses in Portuguese ("Sacola-Bolseiros") would translate to little sac bags in English.

[@nitothefunkybunch6938]

They dead-ass saw Sauron and their first thought was "hey is that guy meant to be us?" and that didnt inspire even the slightest bit of self awareness

[@chrisvickers7928]

In the 1970's in grad school I had a friend who insisted the Lord of the Rings was an allegory for the fall of the Roman Empire. The elves represented the handful of Christian monasteries maintaining knowledge and civilization. The dwarves he felt represented the Jews and Tolkien a Catholic had not portrayed them as favourably. I think it was a stretch but as a long and complex narrative you can force it to follow any number of allegories including conservation versus industrial development.

[@drlca6601]

Such a notion is preposterous. Although, it is funny that Gimli's accent in the films is based on a mixture of a Scottish and Yiddish accent.

[@NigelJackson]

I believe JRRT intentionally modelled the Dwarves language on Semitic linguistic roots.

[@RobertStCyr-pe7ic]

It is about Medieval Catholic Europe's struggle with Islam.

[@pavelskrylnikov9658]

There is an old russian joke, which originated in the tolkienist community while the book was barely legal: "It may be all we could wish,' said Frodo; 'but it is outside the original text all the same. Don't make yourselves too much at home! Please remember -all of you - that the name of Baggins must not be mentioned. I am Mr. Torbins, if any name must be given". The book that you are holding, while wasn't illegal, wasn't exactly easy to acquire, even in Moscow. My mom copied from the friend while she worked in the institute in the 80s and had the access to the copy machine, as well as LOTR books. She also used some of her connections underground to make a fine hard cover. That particular version of Hobbit - twice the original size because it was one sheet of paper for one page, not for two pages - was the first book that she was reading to me almost 30 years ago.

[@blackhatfreak]

Did you know Token's name is actually Tolkien?

[@volodymyrkolbasa5405]

I actually read the first two books - Khraniteli and Two Towers then I was a kid and it took me some years to get my hands on the third volume, because it was hard to get in 90s and well, I still wasa kid. So I had read the first two volumes couple of times before finally already at the end of 90s I had managed to get a third volume and learn what the ending was. :) Access to information was so different not so long ago:)

[@eljasau]

As a Soviet kid I remember reading the first part “the fellowship of the ring” in 1983 (Hraniteli). I could not find the other books anywhere in any library in my home city in Kazakhstan. I guessed they were not translated. I didn’t know if it was a trilogy, I knew the story just had to have a continuation I then had to wait till 1990 to read the full translation that was available during Perestroika. I bought the full trilogy and the Hobbit in 1990 in St Petersburg. I brought these treasures home. I remember how all the kids from my year at school were reading the trilogy . They literally formed a queue and were passing the books from one to another reading them in two three days. We had some sort of a Tolkien fan club discussing it in all class breaks and after school. We were in awe of JRRT. Many still are. So there was that one limited translation edition of the first book of the trilogy that I found in 1983 wow!. Watching this episode was like being transported back in time.

[@exidy-yt]

This is an absolutely fascinating documentary! It turns out I subbed here ages ago, but this is the first time I've seen a video from it in my sidebar in recent memory, and so glad it did! I don't like the idea of the bell being needed to announce new vids to me and clogging up my notifications, but there are a couple of channels I'll use it for, and I think this is going to be one of them. Bravo! Now to watch that Russian TV 'Lord of the Rings'!

[@vasilerogojan4520]

The "talent" of finding the secret meanings in so many areas like in the USSR were comparable with some teachers "talent" of finding secret meanings in the literature.

[@vasilerogojan4520]

I think that other banned pieces of literature deserves special videos as well.

[@BeingFireRetardant]

Only in a perfect worker's paradise could a Hobbit be seen as a threat. Tyranny knows no bravery.

[@thorthewolf8801]

Another really good video, I have never heard about The Master & Margarita book, having looked it up, its something I would definately like to read, thanks for the recommendation!

[@domenicomiletti7366]

Read it. It's good 👍🏻

[@thorthewolf8801]

@@domenicomiletti7366 I just ordered it, I look forward to reading it!

[@domenicomiletti7366]

@@thorthewolf8801 you won't regret it

[@HandleGF]

The Devil is a great character, the Master and Margarita themselves are a yawn

[@thorthewolf8801]

@@HandleGF Yeah, from the descriptions I have read, the devil is certainly the most interesting character

[@frankkolton1780]

Soviet leaders read the book and recognized their own regime. Here in the U.S., books have been banned off and on over the years by community and religious leaders, and woke parents by both the left and right side for reasons of religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, political ideology, and racial slurs because they are afraid of reality. One of my favorite Ray Bradbury books, Fahrenheit 451, has been banned occasionally, you really have to love the irony. "Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." Benjamin Franklin

[@alexgainsborough4921]

Believe Goebbels propaganda more. I personally listened the reading of The Lord of the Rings on the central radio in the USSR, in 1978.

[@0816M3RC]

Currently in Texas, conservative politicians are trying to ban a lot of books from schools.

[@LordVader1094]

@@alexgainsborough4921 Goebbels wasn't even alive?

[@gamemasterultima]

There are no banned books in the U.S. schools and churches sure but I can as a private individual and adult purchase any book I want.

[@shangrilainxanadu]

Lol at the idea that there were Soviet translations of Heinlein. Now that author is openly anti-communist. The politics expressed in his books might range from hard core social conservatism all the way to hippy free love, but anti-communism is in all of them.

[@ProleCenter]

The truth will eventually win out.

[@BeingFireRetardant]

@@ProleCenter It already has... you just don't like the outcome.

[@ProleCenter]

@@BeingFireRetardant I do like the outcome, for an anti-communist CIA asset to finally be unveiled.

[@die1mayer]

In Starship Troopers David Ricardo's teacher Mr. Dubois was arguing against communism, he vigorously criticised the labour theory of value, called Das Kapital unscientific and Karl Marx a bombastic liar. On the other hand the alien bugs were seen as the perfect species for communism, because they acted as swarms and not as individuals.

[@BeingFireRetardant]

@@ProleCenter Communism is a failed lie, and it's fcuking glorious to watch the USSR collapse twice in the same lifetime...

[@middlestring]

Thank you for adding the acknowledgements, that is appreciated

[@alex182618]

I remember reading Jane Eyre in the Soviet Union translated to Russian. All mentions of Jesus were omitted. The last paragraph was not even there.

[@ProleCenter]

Good!

[@alex182618]

@@ProleCenter A person who lives in America and loves the Soviet Union has so kinky fetish.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

@@alex182618 Yes, he is a political pervert. LOL

[@agnyr]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@derekvollans]

Cool content! Thanks! :)

[@bigsarge2085]

Awesome!

[@Duececoupe]

Another reason why I'm glad that I subscribed to this channy, just like every single other video as well.... keep up the phenomenal work! I'm looking forward to see your video on U-137 running aground outside Karlskrona, Sweden, back in....'81? 🤨🤔

[@johnpoole3871]

Reagan was a movies guy. The Evil Empire was a Star Wars reference, not a literary reference.

[@neonknights]

I doubt that he even read more than two or three books in his entire life.

[@RasVoja]

I am glad we had no such censorship in SFR Yugoslavia at the time, so we had good and luxory translations of SF and Tolkien and grew with em

[@lexington476]

I've never heard of the Wizards & Warriors Channel, thank you. This one looks pretty good. You have any other channels you guys run?

[@TheColdWarTV]

Kings and Generals, naturally. :)

[@lexington476]

@@TheColdWarTV I never knew Cold War and kings and Generals were the same team. The narrators are completely different. Obviously it's the same narrator for Wizards & Warriors, I'm starting at the beginning on that channel, this is some good stuff.

[@stoppos76]

Interesting side story from over the curtain. Ádám Réz, the guy who translated in hungarian the first 11 chapters died and nobody wanted to take over. Finally they've found Árpád Göncz, who after the revolution in 56 was imprisoned for 10 years and he basically learnt english there and worked as a tranlsator. So he finsihed the translations and the books were published in 81. After the fall of the communist regime he became the first president of Hungary. So we can say our president translated the Lord of the rings. He also said every person hates the book which he translates by the end and it happened with him as well, but later it turned around and he was always reading this book when he was sick.

[@John77Doe]

Reading Lord of the Rings can be a form of torture. Particularly the long passages devoted to the Ents, perhaps the most boring mythological creatures ever devised. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@negirno]

@@John77Doe My friend couldn't get past the hobbit genealogy sections. He loved the movies, though.

[@Mike-tg7dj]

As a Cold War veteran I appreciate your coverage of this subject.

[@josephahner3031]

Lord of the Rings is a tale of how man cannot be trusted with power over others. Can't imagine the Soviet Union taking a shine to it.

[@kongspeaks4778]

Was it Animal Farm or 1984 that informed this nuanced opinion?

[@_Abjuranax_]

Censorship in the West would be a good topic too. I was stationed in Germany 79-80, and built WWII Tamiya model kits. Any images of Swastikas or SS runes on the box art, instructions or decals, were blacked out with a marker, cut out, or simply removed. I was glad this kind of censorship didn't happen in the US, and actually got a job making molds for tin-soldiers after my discharge from the Army. Now there are virtually no manufacturers of historical miniatures in the US today, with all sales being imports, despite the heavy shipping and import fees. My how times have changed.

[@baneofbanes]

Not only that but middle shops then siege are becoming rarer. Frankly it’s easier buying sets off of the internet now.

[@mpetersen6]

With the advent of good and cheap 3D resin printers a lot of modeling hobbies will be changing.

[@pyatig]

I always thought that given Tolkien’s experience in WW1, Germany was Mordor, Western allies were Gondor and Rohan was Russia. The names even sound similar and it literally describes Rus medieval knights in the books. Oh and master and margarita is fantastic

[@jesseberg3271]

WWI is the war at the end of the second age, the last alliance between men and elves. The Lord of the Rings is actually about WWII. Gondor is Britain, Arnor is the US and Canada, Rohan is Russia (Wormtongue's control of Theoden is the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), the French are the Elves, and Saruman is Italy. I suspected as much when I read it, but here is the revelation, years later, that convinced me it was true and deliberate, whatever Tolkien had claimed: Minas Tirith, the besieged city, the last holdfast of the men of the west, is of course Britian during the Blitz. But who rules in Minas Tirith? Not a King or a Prime Minister. No, Gondor is ruled over by a Steward, and a Steward, is a chief servant: like a Butler, or a Major Domo, or perhaps... like a Chamberlain? The ill prepared Steward/Chamberlain has allowed the defenses of the realm to decline, so who must return to replace him, err the return of the King? What gray clad pilgrim, ancient and knowledgeable, who warned of the return of darkness to the east when no one else would listen, what champion emerges to lead the men of Gondor in their Darkest Hour? If I haven't convinced you that Gandalf is Winston Churchill and Denathor is Nevil Chamberlain, then I apologize, because I haven't done the metaphor justice.

[@wojszach4443]

nice touch on that "cancelled" part

[@Artur_M.]

This topic is such a pleasant surprise! Meanwhile in the People's Republic of Poland, _The Lord of the Rings_ (translated by Maria Skibniewska) was officially published in 1961-1963, without any changes dictated by ideological censorship, which might serve as a good illustration of slight but noticeable differences between the USSR and some of its satellite states. Other translations followed but the original one remines the most popular. PS I agree that _The Master and Margherita_ is indeed a great book.

[@Artur_M.]

@@dickystrike6966 Yeah, they talked about the publication of 'The Hobbit' in USSR (while 'The Lord of the Rings' was still banned) in the video itself. 'The Hobbit' was also published in Poland in 1960, also in translation by M. Skibniewska.

[@baneofbanes]

@@dickystrike6966 the hobbit wasn’t Tolkien’s only book.

[@Brot_und_Spiele]

nice video. ❤

[@1981dlambert]

It’s a nice reminder of people’s everyday lives during the period.

[@konst80hum]

I want to commend you for your content. Oh and the videos of the Linotype process.

[@emsouemsou]

One particular epilogue I'd like to share since it's just outside of the timespan of the Cold War: The Goblin Translation (Перевод Гоблина). It's a parody dub of the Peter Jackson movies that also draws in references not only to Soviet LotR but the Soviet sphere itself. Different characters are portrayed as ex-Soviet ethnic stereotypes (Gimli is Georgian, Legolas Baltic, Gollum Ukrainian), Frodo is renamed back to Sumkin, and Mordor becomes Mordovia, the name of an actual state in Russia.

[@SamuraiAkechi]

"I used to be Pendalf the Gray (pendal - slang for ass-kick) before. Today I'm Sasha the White (Alexander Belov/Sasha Bely /the White - MC from Brigda TV series)!"

[@JonGabriel]

Thanks for the shout-out to "Master and Margarita." Such a brilliant, creative, and often hilarious read.

[@jimmyyu2184]

"All books are equal, some are just more equal than others" -- Apologies to Animal Farm

[@tremorsfan]

I can only imagine what the Soviets thought of Nineteen Eighty-Four. That would make a great episode.

[@halidehelux5221]

Lol....that's what I was thinking, or Animal Farm for that matter .

[@baneofbanes]

Both were written as criticism of the Communist and Fascist regimes that Orwell saw arise is I doubt they took it well.

[@Apollo1989V]

I believe Reagan was comparing the USSR to the Galactic Empire from Star Wars. A tyrannical empire controlling its populace through fear.

[@JonatasAdoM]

With a political feared leader in the center. in lotr the tyrannical villain has yet to take over the kingdom to instill fear and control.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

Reagan wasn't wrong.

[@trizvanov]

He was also the same person, who got close to starting a WWIII after he joked that he was going to "push the button".

[@MisterOcclusion]

3:56. What’s that name that you refer to Stalin by? I’ve heard it many times here but never knew what it meant

[@ingold1470]

Vozhd it sounds like. Wiki says it's Russian for Fuhrer en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vozhd

[@trizvanov]

@@ingold1470 It is Russian for "Leader".

[@endymionselene165]

So where can you get the first translation of the lord of the rings with the sci-fi spin?

[@johnl5316]

Dec 1969 I crossed the border from eastern Turkey in to Soviet Armenia. Customs took hours examining everything I had including many records (LP's) and books among which was Orwell's ANIMAL FARM, which they did allow in.

[@ilyac3185]

Some much of my favorite nerdiness intersected here : institutions, history, and Lord Of the Ring

[@ondrejkratochvil4589]

BTW apart from samizdat on its own a good topic for this channel would be shadow video "market" in the 1980s - how the VHS tapes were smuggled from western countries (often the german versions), overdubbed in home "studios" (sometimes the studio was a bathroom :) ), how the VHS machine bought via legal channels cost aprox. four month salaries so there was big black economy zone when it came to video & music electronics & tapes

[@ondrejkratochvil4589]

@@joek600 yeah, makes sence in 1982, but here, behind the (luckily) former iron curtain that 4 month salaries price was still actual until the fall in 1989 (no idea how many people here even had video in 1982, perhpas you could count them on your fingers), while the prices in the "west" countries has taken huge drop in mid 1980s

[@romelnegut2005]

So the Button is the Precious.

[@erikkrauss8481]

No was this wasn't timed with that south park eppisode on accident, good vid

[@dmman33]

Now I’m interested in learning about SciFi in the Soviet Union!

[@richardgietzen4591]

Thank you : i have enjoyed your many videos and like your style . As an American raised and educated in San Francisco public school system , getting my information from text books approved by the local school board and by the state of California . From those books I formed my opinions . Looking back today at the age of 68 . I find them to be pure propaganda . I compare them to the USSR censorship . Maybe You should do a segment on this. Also do a segment on the ( myth of Churchill the savior to Churchill the war criminal ) This kind of rewriting of history was not just confined to the USSR

[@thomas_asunto]

Tolkien support Francoist Nationalists during Spanish Civil War, he condemned both Nazism, Bolshevism and racism. His nobels were inspired on his faith (Catholicism), his philologist and linguist work. The Soviets condemned His works as reactionary and anti-soviet contraband.

[@alter-nator]

"if you never read Master & Margarita you need to change that" Love this guy! 🙂

[@youngmasterzhi]

YOU SHALL NOT PASS--the Iron Curtain!!

[@Zebred2001]

I doubt a single ruble was ever paid to Tolkien's publisher or to his estate.

[@gamer40000]

Yeah, any political reading of Lotr should remember, it should be done from a British perspective that a lot of brits came to have post ww1, remember, Tolkien was a ww1 vet, so really, any potential subtext really shouldnt be applied to the soviets, cause well, Tolkien probably didnt know much about how the soviet union worked, since well, british citizen, had more pressing concerns like a slowly dying empire

[@Joseph-yh4pg]

A bear (Russia?) trampling sinister looking attackers appears on Tolkien’s pencil, ink and watercolour “Christmas 1933”. While he was fighting in the trenches Tolkien might have been grateful for Russia fighting Germany, Austria and the Ottoman Empire on the eastern and southern fronts.

[@HolyDarkness767]

Not to mention that the Soviets were naturally suspicious of a deeply catholic author.

[@DaveSCameron]

GRAHAM GREENE?

[@reginabillotti]

@@DaveSCameron Tolkien

[@MadnessTW]

Nice topic. I find it interesting that the Soviet interpretation was one of pessimism. It's definitely implicitly critical of authoritarian regimes such as the USSR, but it always seemed optimistic to me. There's this feeling of the inevitable triumph of the good. Is that why an evil empire would see it as negative? Or did they just not know Warhammer?

[@rezajafari6395]

Eh, there is definitely a pervasive sense in the books that even without Sauron things are slowly but steadily getting worse

[@renel8964]

@0:23 the picture of the woman in the back shushing, what does it say?

[@davidwright7193]

Don’t talk. It’s the Soviet equivalent of “keep mum she’s not so dumb” or “loose lips sink ships”.

[@davidwright7193]

Don’t talk. It’s the Soviet equivalent of “keep mum she’s not so dumb” or “loose lips sink ships”.

[@neonknights]

In Hungary the Lord of the Rings trilogy was published in 1981 (by an official publisher not samizdhat), translated by Árpád Göncz who later became the first President of democratic post-communist Hungary (serving from 1990 to 2000).

[@helmhamerhand733]

Okay, i’m sharing this in our Tolkien Historical Society.

[@westrim]

Thank you for explaining why the comments on the official trailers for the Amazon show are plastered with a Tolkien quote in Cyrillic.

[@ProleCenter]

Huh? Really? In Cyrillic letters? I missed that.

[@IsrarulHaque24x7]

While discussing the evolution of pop culture and outside impact in Soviet Union, please also make a video( or maybe 2-3 episodes) on India-Soviet Cultural exchange, especially the impact of Indian Films on Soviet Public life, especially that of Raj Kapoor and his films.

[@John77Doe]

You're kidding me. The Soviet Union allowed Indian films to be played. All the ones I have seen shame the West in lavish displays of decadent capitalism. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Neversa]

Indian films were very popular in USSR. Today Indian TV series are popular too, especially in Kazakhstan. Everyone knows about Disco Dancer or Zita and Gita (idk about correct spelling). Also the name Indira became very popular afterwards, especially among Muslim population of USSR. And yeah, I love Indian movies too.

[@AmanKumarPadhy]

Hey man those were the days, I mean the stories werent groundbreaking but the music was good, and the acting was just *muah* *chefs kiss* Nowadays, I only watching streaming site shows and few directors coz most of it is just the same cliche bs

[@trizvanov]

@@Neversa I spent my childhood in Turkmenistan. Blocking an entire street so the locals could watch an Indian film was almost a weekly occurrence, particularly in summer.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

9:00 If they took the clandestine route, why didn't they circulate the original instead of the rework?

[@Wolffjord]

Very few people, even the intellectual class, spoke English. Knowing a foreign language outside the strict needs of your own profession was seen as highly suspicious. You didn't want anyone to get into Stalin's black book

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

That was pretty cool what that translator did to bring in the Lord of the Rings! Clever move.

[@padawanmage71]

I always took Reagan’s ‘Evil Empire’ tag as a nod to Star Wars?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

And thus, my childhood of the 1980's.

[@middlestring]

Just wondering why you are using a montage image of Soviet-era Tolkien illustrations by Mikhail Belomlinsky and Sergei Iukhimov specifically created for my Foreign Policy article as the thumbnail for this video? Also, it would be nice if you acknowledged the sources of your information (Mark T. Hooker, Olga Markova, possibly myself).

[@mehrcat1]

The author of Lord of the Rings had a bad hobbit of tolkien to himself.

[@mpetersen6]

The first time I ever ran across a Tolkien pun was in Heinlein's The Glory Road where the hero Oscar Gordon says don't make a Hobbit of it.

[@toringepedersen9614]

Thank you, I find your historical videos very enlighentning. Although in this instance, I might have thought that the ideal Tolkien placed on the agrarian non-industrialized society would might have had an impact on how the Soviet leadership looked upon the books.

[@Normalguy1690]

Tolkien didn’t support industrialisation. Big no no for the soviets.

[@pekkaroponen4920]

It may well be that I am making up just a new conspriacy theory but please remember that Tolkien was an admirer of Finnish mythology and language. There are many fenno-ugrian tribes living in Russia, severly oppressed today. On the other hand, Kalevala is well known in Russia, for example in the form of the movie Sampo, 1958. My German daughter in law had no idea about the Tolkien´s Finnish connection. There are hidden disputes between Finns an Russians, especially now. Just contemplating...

[@brokenbridge6316]

The Lord of the Rings used to have a Sci-Fi spin. I wouldn't mind reading that at some point. And I'm not Russian. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.

[@gate7clamp]

Just watched the Soviet play version I have to say it has a lot of passion and creativity I put it up there with the Peter Jackson adaptation they should put this in the Blu-ray box in future rereleases box set of lord of the rings

[@AxelPoliti]

I do not like Tolkien, but your documentary is a moving story of the force of culture. Thank you!

[@unr74]

I wonder what they would have thought of Eraserhead?

[@julianhermanubis6800]

The list of books banned by the Soviet communists would be a fairly lengthy one and would include many Soviet citizens as well as foreign writers. Dictators aren't into free expression of ideas. And whole genres of literature were suspect in the Soviet Union, including fantasy, Gothic novels and horror, and political satire.

[@DaveSCameron]

Care to expand on the list of reads censored here in the West?

[@julianhermanubis6800]

@@DaveSCameron What are you saying exactly? That Western governments banned as many books as the Soviet Union? That's a bold strategy, Cotton. LOL

[@baneofbanes]

@@DaveSCameron gonna vary based on nation but no Western nation has banned literary works to the extent that the communists and fascists did.

[@vasilerogojan4520]

The obsession with controlling everything, including literature, led to restrictions like this that are ridiculous, but the dictatorial regimes like the soviet one didn't have the sense of ridiculous.

[@ProleCenter]

The USA went to extraordinary lengths to control and socially engineer their society, but they did it covertly. At least the Soviets were open and honest about trying, however imperfectly, to construct a new type of system free from ignorance, oppression and exploitation. They were looking to the future, while paleo-conservative, Christian fundamentalist nuts like Tolkien were pining away for a mythological and monarchical past.

[@iancerezohirtz5485]

@@ProleCenter man you are a bad person

[@user-le4tl5fw7c]

It's not crucial, but in russian speaking tradition we call "вождь" not only Stalin, but almost all other soviet high officials from Lenin and Trotsky to Andropov and Suslov, so it's not exactly correct to compare times of Chruschev with the вождь times. If you want to outline particulary Stalin, there was a popular title вождь народ и племен (the chief of peoples and tribes, sounds horrible in translation), wich refers to Stalin only.

[@pavelernestozavalamedina405]

Talking about Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, what do you know about The last ring, soviets view of the ring's tale? Namarie from México

[@GorgyCL]

Ahh the Quixotic rewrite, a story within a story. Impervious to censors since 1605.

[@louiseogden1296]

I have a Lithuanian Soviet copy of The Hobbit and it has pride of place in my collection. And yes, Master and Margarita is a must-read. I took my new boyfriend to a play production in London and he didn't run a mile... I love the name Sumkins :). It resonates best with Russian. Now I'm imagining Putin as Sauron -- and from what I've heard of Norilsk, I believe Mordor actually does exist.

[@noeenricodomanais2517]

Tolkien: I hope my works will be a best seller in the USSR. USSR: You shall not pass!

[@larisael-netanany488]

You should have at least mentioned «the black book of Arda» by Nienna. This is a post tolkienist work made possible only in the Soviet Union told as a pseudo Socratic dialog between a master and learner, presenting the books of LotR and Sylmarillion as the prevailing propaganda of victors, implying that the true events were not a fight between good and evil, but between two competing narratives, where Sauron and Morgoth are the scilenced misunderstood well-meaning but demonized figures, and the easterlings and the orcs are the sad victims. If only such works could be remotely passed through the language barrier...

[@beachboy0505]

9:30 Blockbuster Video 📹 Read in a day to reduce risks

[@matsreinderink4994]

Wait is this episode about that South Park character?

[@jonasmarcili0]

I Became very curious about that sci fi adaptation with scientists

[@greenkoopa]

David good morning! The lines I always think of from the LoTR movies are 2 "Come and claim him!" Because my gf said that when i asked to hold my son when he was a baby 🤣🤣 And, "what can men do against such reckless hate?" 🤔 I have a weird dynamic with her I guess

[@DaveSCameron]

Yer wha? 🙏

[@greenkoopa]

@@DaveSCameron I'm 35 years old. People my age abbreviate girlfriend to gf to save time. Have a good day

[@paulraines9635]

@@greenkoopa So you ride out on your gf everytime she has an episode? That's got to be tiring.

[@Inkling777]

I gather that Tolkien was quite popular in occupied Eastern Europe during the Cold War. You might want to do a video on that.

[@yutakago1736]

The science fiction version of Lord of the Ring sound more interesting than the original version.

[@beachboy0505]

5:45 'Animal Farm 🚜 by George Orwell ' Banned

[@spellman007]

good!

[@flimsedom]

The main reason might be that he just needed an inspiration of Orc warriors.

[@trizvanov]

It would be true if his name was Goebbels.

[@checkbox9884]

What is that sound, you use as background "music". is that an air-sirene... I've listened to some of your interesting topics/videos. But every time after around 9 minutes, an air-sirene is starting as background-noise. Very very annoying.

[@DOOMRUL3Z]

Great video, but I beg to differ on one point : there IS an allusion to XXth century history in Lord of the Rings, at the end of the last book, when the hobbits go back to the Shire and find out it has been taken over by Saruman. They say the invaders have taken all the wealth and promised to "redistribute". The Shire has become "industrialized", the Shirrif are being used as some kind of political police. Of course it could be a criticism of fascism or totalitarianism but that sounds a great deal like anticommunism. There is a whole Wikipedia chapter dedicated to that. Explains it much better than my comment : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scouring_of_the_Shire?wprov=sfla1

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Yup, you can't convince me that Tolkien wasn't thinking about socialists and communists when he made Saruman's thugs talk bout "redistribution".

[@JonatasAdoM]

Wealth redistribution isn't only a communist thing though. It happened when a city was sacked for example, and maybe (I'm speculating now) Tolkien didn't think being against your properties being taken away from you would become a "so you're a capitalist then" point of view.

[@ingold1470]

@@JonatasAdoM Given that thug's boss Saruman is a literal ivory-tower intellectual (with Maiar powers but still) who becomes convinced that he can use Sauron's arts to double cross him and make the world a better place I think the "gathering and sharing" was a rather pointed reference. The bandits have almost entirely dropped the act by the time the heroes get there because Saruman himself has been reduced to a spiteful wreck.

[@ProleCenter]

Yes, the next to last chapter in Return of the King, The Scouring of the Shire, really brings it home! No question about it!

[@ProleCenter]

@@ArkadiBolschek Exactly, whatever Tolkien's intentions were, his personality, religious beliefs and political views definitely found their way into his writings. Any reasonable person can understand why Soviet publishers would be hesitant to translate and print it.