Other Russias

Other Russias initially began as a series of illustrations and documentary comics shared by Russian artist Victoria Lomasko on social media, rather than being conceived as a book from the start. These works document marginalized communities within Russian society, including workers and political dissidents, offering a rare and unfiltered perspective rarely seen in mainstream media. 

Later, these contents were compiled into a book, further expanding its influence. Although it has been translated into multiple languages, it has never been published in Russia. However, it was finally released in Traditional Chinese at the end of last year.





Design

This book, published by Hide & Seek Audiovisual Art, was designed collaboratively by me and designer Chen Jen from Limestone Books Maastricht.

Through discussions with the editor, we decided to use the dialogue boxes from the documentary comics of  Other Russians as the central theme of the cover. The cover features a stone that seems to have been thrown, stacked into a wall by the people—symbolizing a barrier that keeps people both trapped inside and unable to enter.

The cover also includes two opposing processions: the May 6, 2012 Million-Strong March in support of Pussy Riot and the September 15, 2012 nationalist march. These are represented as the only color pages in the book.

We rearranged the book’s title, font sizes, typefaces, and chapter pages, as well as adjusted the proportions of the documentary comics to enhance the readability and flow of the layout.