Alpha Centauri by Alexander Plotnikov

Альфа Центавра. Документальная поэма о космонавтах, которые не были в космосе (“Alpha Centauri: A Documentary Poem about Cosmonauts Who Never Went to Space”) is
a collection of real stories of Soviet cosmonauts, men and women, who for various reasons – dramatic or even tragic – never made it to space. From these, the author, Alexander Plotnikov, builds a saga of failure, defeat, and missed success. He talks about history written by the victors, weaving in 20th-century philosophy, the context of war, and the personal reflections of an émigré. The image of flight through emptiness emerges as a metaphor for human life and humanity itself.

The text is based on a monodrama, which the author (a theater director and playwright) performs in bookstores, bars, and small theatres while in exile during the war.

The typography on the book’s cover is executed through Roslindale Text by David Jonathan Ross, while additional typography (page numbers, chapter titles) is set in Elma Trio by Philipp Neumeyer. On Instagram, the book’s designer, Maxim Balabin, writes:

I thought that the cover needs to be about something that didn’t happen, and it shouldn’t use Soviet heroic space-conquest symbolism, because the book is about the opposite.