Book excerpt: From Sputnik to Gorbachev: an intricately detailed graphic exploration of Russian history that only you can complete This coloring book for all ages marks the first publication of the graphic works of Russian artist Amanita. His fantastical images form a unique world: they are like modern variations of illustrated manuscripts, packed full with elements of Soviet and post-Soviet cultures. The book also works as an introduction to the Russian alphabet. Every drawing depicts a word beginning with each letter from the Cyrillic alphabet, also shown in English, giving a light-hearted guide as to how the letters look and sound. The subjects of Amanita's illustrations are wide-ranging: from political leaders (Lenin, Gorbachev) to inanimate objects (Tupolev aircraft, Sputnik, Tsars, cosmonauts) and Constructivism, these classic Soviet themes are interwoven from one page to the next, all rendered in an abundance of detail. Amanita's amazing and skillful images define a previously unimagined graphic landscape that takes the humble coloring book into a new dimension. Russian Alphabet Colouring Book is the perfect gift book. Alexander Erashov was born in Ermak, Kazakhstan, in 1972. The pseudonym Amanita (a red-and-white spotted mushroom) is a reference to the black-white-red palette of his artworks.