This precious discovery from the vaults of Stalinism sheds new light on the supposedly sexually repressive communist society of the former Soviet Union. Yes, the commies loved sex, too

The fascinating scans come from an alphabet picture book published around 1931, allegedly to fight widespread illiteracy across the vast Soviet territories. It was drawn by no less than Sergey Merkurov, the former People’s Artist of the USSR and an academic at the Soviet Academy of Arts.

Ironically enough, Merkurov is best known as the author of three biggest monuments of Joseph Stalin in the USSR.

Inspired by ancient Greco-Roman imagery, powered by some cheerfully aroused Cupids and kinky Satyrs along with chopped off penises flying around, Merkurov’s wonderfully illustrated picture book is not only a testimony to some of the more bizarre endeavours of the Soviet empire but also a rather effective way for you to finally grasp those weird Cyrillic letters.

*Images via The Charnel House