1976 Soviet edition of 'The Hobbit' (2015)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Soviet Edition & Art Style

  • Many find the 1976 Soviet illustrations “amazing,” nostalgic, and distinctive; others call them naive or childish.
  • Defenders note that tone fits The Hobbit as a children’s book.
  • The style is compared to Rocky & Bullwinkle villains and Samurai Jack; some speculate the latter may have been influenced by Soviet-era visuals.

Bilbo’s Model & Soviet Pop Culture Links

  • The illustrator based Bilbo’s look on a well-known Soviet actor, confirmed by the actor himself in an interview where he’s gifted the book.
  • The actor was also the voice of Soviet Winnie-the-Pooh, strengthening the cultural resonance.
  • Some see resemblance to Western comedians, which amuses readers.

Global Tolkien Illustrations

  • Commenters share other beloved editions: East German (Klaus Ensikat), Romanian, Bulgarian comic adaptation, and the Swedish Tove Jansson Hobbit.
  • Jansson’s art is widely praised; some say the Soviet edition owes it a stylistic debt but is “more conventional and stiff.”
  • Another notable 1970s illustrator (a European monarch under pseudonym) is cited as a favorite of Tolkien.

Gollum: Size, Look, and Retcons

  • Long thread on Gollum’s size: Jansson drew him huge; people debate whether early texts were ambiguous.
  • Passages about Bilbo jumping over Gollum and the ring fitting both characters are used to argue he must be small and roughly hobbit-sized.
  • Others note descriptions of Gollum as “black” and orc-like in LOTR, contrasting with pale film versions.
  • The Soviet “spaghetti Gollum” gets particular affection.

Trolls, Orcs, and Folklore

  • One reader thinks the Soviet trolls and battle scenes misread the book (trolls as giants, goblins too human).
  • Others argue big, drunken, humanlike trolls are consistent with The Hobbit and Scandinavian folklore, and that D&D and films have since shifted expectations.

Books as Objects: Value and Loss

  • The Jansson-illustrated Swedish Hobbit commands high prices; most other books don’t.
  • Debate over “worthless” books: abundance vs lack of demand vs forgotten but beautiful editions.
  • Reports from Sweden of hardcovers being refused by charities and libraries culling low-circulation titles, raising fears of many non-digitized books being effectively lost.

Soviet/Russian Re-readings of Tolkien

  • The Last Ringbearer is recommended as a serious, sympathetic retelling from Mordor’s side, motivated by worldbuilding and economics.
  • A satirical communist reading of LOTR (Mordor as USSR, orcs as workers, hobbits as kulaks) is recounted; some note that “Mordor revisionism” remains popular.
  • Others argue historically that Tolkien’s anti-industrial, Catholic, anti-communist stance made him genuinely ideologically opposed to the Soviet project.

Translation & Initials

  • The “D-zh. R. R. Tolkin” cover sparks a detailed explanation of Russian practice: initials aim to match original sounds, so English J → “Дж.”
  • Examples with English/French “Charles,” choices for representing W, and special cases of Russian authors’ own stylized initials are discussed.

Personal Memories & Pre-Jackson Imagination

  • Several recall this Soviet Hobbit as their first “grown-up” book or first Tolkien encounter; its art still overrides the Peter Jackson films in their mind’s eye.
  • Others reminisce about different pre-film illustrators shaping how they see hobbits, dwarves, trolls, and Gollum.