Praeprintium Exhibition and Catalogue Reveal Moscow Samizdat Publications to Western Audiences

The exhibition titled Praeprintium, overseen by curators Günter Hirt and Sascha Wonders, highlighted Moscow samizdat publications spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s at various locations, including Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Weserburg Museum, Graz, and Vienna. A catalogue with a black cover contained a CD-ROM from Humboldt University featuring illustrations and translations. Artifacts were sourced from the University of Bremen and private collections. A symposium presented talks by late samizdat poets Igor’ Kholin and Genrikh Sapgir. The foreword by Hirt and Wonders examined samizdat's significance in the history of Russian media. The exhibition emphasized Moscow and introduced artists such as Ilya Kabakov and Vilen Barskii, while critiquing newer groups for straying from samizdat's subtle aesthetics and celebrating Vadim Zakharov, ending with Yulya Kisina's children's books.