Size: 19×13.5cm./7.4×5.3inch.
Weight: 157gr./5.5oz.
Year: 1989
Pages: 175
 
Magazine Sputnik made in the Soviet Union, No.8, 1989, in the French language.
Sputnik was a Soviet magazine published from 1967 until 1991 by the Soviet press agency Novosti in several languages, targeted at both Eastern Bloc countries and Western nations. It was intended to be a Soviet equivalent to Reader’s Digest, publishing news stories excerpted from the Soviet press in a similar size and paper.
The magazine presented topics relating to politics, science, and culture as well as the society of the Soviet Union. Novosti wanted to promote a positive, modern image of the socialist development in the Soviet Union internationally. The magazine’s name reflects this objective as it refers to the first artificial earth satellite, which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. As a means of promoting socialism Soviet style, Sputnik disseminated socialist propaganda which many readers in the socialist countries dismissed as indoctrination. However, with changes in Soviet policies in the 1980s, the magazine became a source of sought-after information and discussion.