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Starting with the first man-made satellite ´Sputnik´ in 1957 and culminating four years later with the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, space became a new utopian horizon. This book explores the profound repercussions of the Soviet space exploration program on culture and everyday life in Eastern Europe, especially in the Soviet Union itself.

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Preface Notes on Contributors Introduction: What does ´space culture´ Mean in Soviet society?; E.Maurer , J.Richers , M.Rüthers & C.Scheide Writing about Soviet Space Exploration: A Short Overview over the State of Research; J.Richers PART I: SPIRITUALITY, TRANSCENDENCE AND SOVIET UTOPIANISM IN REFLECTIONS ON SPACE TRAVEL Introduction: Spirituality, Transcendence and Soviet Utopianism in Reflections on Space Travel; E.Maurer & J.Richers The Conquest of Space and the Bliss of the Atoms - Konstantin Tsiolkovskii; M.Hagemeister Empty/Void Space and the Cybernetic God: Kosmos in the Works of StanisLaw Lem and the Strugatsky Brothers; T.Grob The Contested Skies: The Battle of Science and Religion in the Soviet Planetarium; V.Smolkin PART II: REMEMBERING SPACE, CONSTRUCTING HEROES Introduction: Remembering Space, Constructing Heroes; C.Scheide & M.Rüthers Memories of Space and the Spaces of Memory: Remembering Sergei Korolev; S.Gerovitch The Heroic and the Ordinary: Photographic Representations of Soviet Cosmonauts in the Early 1960´s; I.Kohonen ´Let´s Find Out Where the Cosmonaut School Is´: Soviet Girls and Cosmic Visions in the Aftermath of Tereshkova; R.Sylvester Constructing Cosmic Enthusiasm: A Case Study of the Krasnodar Territory; A.Eremeeva Propaganda and Cultural History of Cosmonautics: The Example of Regional Public Organizations; V.Sadym PART III: PERFORMING SPACE IN WORLD POLITICS: COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIALITY Introduction: Performing Space in World Politics: Communications and Mediality; M.Rüthers Sputnik Goes to Brussels: The Exhibition of a Soviet Technological Wonder; L.Siegelbaum Soviet Cosmonauts and American Astronauts in Yugoslavia - Who Did the Yugoslavs Love More?; R.Vu?etic Children and the Cosmos as Projects of the Future and Ambassadors of Soviet Leadership; M.Rüthers PART IV: SPACE IN POPULAR CULTURE Introduction: Space in Popular Culture; J.Richers & M.Rüthers A Dream Come True: Close Encounters with Outer Space in Soviet Popular Scientific Journals of the 1950´s and 60´s; M.Schwartz Space Exploration in Russian and Western Popular Culture: Wishful Thinking, Conspiracy Theories and other Related Issues; A.Rogatchevski Two Images of a Spaceman in Estonian Art: The Missing Myth of a Hero and the Fable of Failure; A.Porri Epilogue: End of Utopia, Start of Nostalgia From ´Cosmic Enthusiasm´ to ´Nostalgia for the Future´: A Tale of Soviet Space Culture; A.Siddiqi Appendix

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