TAKEAWAY: The bi-monthly magazine, Big City, has published a special edition saluting 9780 victims of the Stalin era. With a simple but dramatic page design, Big City gets its point across.
Big City mag, big special edition
Notice the faces of some members of this family have been covered with color ink. Surviving relatives did not wish to be identified as related to those killed, for fear of retaliation against them. So, I am told, it was customary for members of a family to erase or obliterate the faces of relatives who had been victims of Stalin’s government
The lists of 9780 names of victims of the Stalin era.
Several pages present photos of relatives who tell the story of losing family members during the Stalin Era (1928-53)
The first thing that caught my eye when I looked at a cover of this magazine was the photograph where what seemed like a family portrait appeared, but where someone had also taken color markers to draw over the faces of four of the persons in the photo.
Upon inquiring, I was told that this was a special Big City edition honoring those who died or disappeared during the Stalin era. Reportedly, more than 700,000 citizens died during this period, 1928-53; it is said that the majority were killed during 1937.
The magazine put the names of 9780 of them throughout the magazine, then included narratives and photos of surviving relatives of these victims, many holding photographs of their dear ones, and telling the sad stories .
Big City is distributed free in Moscow every two weeks.
Of special interest:
The Wall Street Journal and Samsung tablet edition:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/11/app-review-wall-street-journal-tablet-edition-for-android/
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Is iPad’s First Real Rival
http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20101110/samsung-galaxy-tab-tablet-review/
It’s a Tablet. It’s Gorgeous. It’s Costly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/technology/personaltech/11pogue.html?_r=1?ner=rss&emc=rss
Meet Intersect, where storytelling, time, and location get all mashed up
http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/11/meet-intersect-where-storytelling-time-and-location-get-all-mashed-up/