<p>'This illuminating book explores the concept of happiness in Soviet culture, as manifested in a number of key topics, ranging from literature, art, architecture, and film to advertising, cookery books, and textiles… The analysis throughout is underpinned and enriched by careful attention to detail and, wherever appropriate, the use of personal testimony. The black-and-white illustrations may evoke in many a nostalgia for a paradoxical era that blighted many lives, but that also testified to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of often overwhelming adversity.' —Roger Cockrell, University of Exeter, in ‘Modern Language Review’</p>

<p>‘Makes an original contribution to our discipline, and several chapters will be of lasting interest to scholars of twentieth-century cultural history.’ —Polly Jones, University College London, in ‘Slavonica’</p>

<p>‘One of the unquestionable achievements of “Petrified Utopia” is its multi-dimensional depiction of the concept of Soviet happiness. The illustrations that the volume has add an important dimension to the statements made in written texts. […] The book should be recommended to all readers whose interests lie in the discovery of everyday culture in the Soviet Union from the 1920s through to the 1960s.’ —Anja Tippner, Osteuropa [trans]</p>

<p>‘Lively and timely […] the volume makes an original contribution to our discipline’ —Polly Jones, ‘Slavonica’</p>