Walking through Torments

The famous trilogy by Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1882–1945) «Walking through Torments» traces the destinies of representatives of the Russian intelligentsia during and after the 1917 revolution. The book is adorned with dozens of black-and-white illustrations created by Kukryniksy. This pseudonym was used by three artists: Mikhail Vasilyevich Kupriyanov, Porfiry Nikitich Krylov, and Nikolai Alexandrovich Sokolov. They gained fame as outstanding masters of satirical drawing. In this edition, readers can familiarize themselves with their illustrations, created in a realistic manner. At the end of the book, sketches of the Kukryniksy drawings for the novel by A.N. Tolstoy are provided.
The first novel of his famous trilogy, Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy began writing in 1918 in Odessa shortly before emigration. «Sisters» was published four years later in Berlin. The writer masterfully described the demise of the «Silver Age» and how the whirlwinds of the First World War and the ensuing storm of two revolutions scattered Russian intelligentsia, relatives, and loved ones to different sides of the barricades. 
The book is enhanced by illustrations created by Kukryniksy. Under this unusual pseudonym worked three artists — Mikhail Vasilyevich Kupriyanov (1903-1991), Porfiry Nikitich Krylov (1902-1990), and Nikolai Alexandrovich Sokolov (1903-2000). It is unlikely that there was a person in the Soviet Union who had not seen the drawings, caricatures, or caricatures created by Kukryniksy. Their expressive posters tracked all the key events of the USSR's war with fascist Germany, as well as the main moments of the post-war period occurring on the world political stage. Kukryniksy's topical drawings regularly appeared in the country's most influential printed edition — the newspaper «Pravda». The acquaintance of the three artists took place when they were students at the Moscow Vkhutemas — Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops. Kukryniksy began their creative path with illustrations for stories and satirical drawings that sharply ridiculed the surrounding reality. Kukryniksy also excelled as book illustrators. This talented trio of masters began experimenting in this field as early as the dawn of their creative activity. The mastery of Kukryniksy allowed them to select an original style for each specific work they took on for illustration. Their drawings for A.N. Tolstoy's trilogy beautifully prove this.