all 63 comments

[–]MadMageMC 100 points101 points  (17 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This makes me kind of sad, actually... seeing all those books just left to rot.

[–]tzech99 33 points34 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I had the same thought, its almost painful to look at.

[–]SpermWhale 23 points24 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Those books are knowledges thrown away.

[–]LockAndCode 54 points55 points * (11 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Libraries in the US get rid of books all the time because they're old and largely uninteresting to most people. At the end of an average library sale, they're giving away bags of unwanted books for free. I've gone through some of those, and really, there are a lot of books that simply aren't worth reading.

Now imagine an entire society that, for 70-odd years, generated legions of university level intellectuals who did nothing but write complicated philosophical propaganda in praise of various aspects of the glorious Soviet revolution. I expect that a huge majority of those Russian books are that sort of thing. Throw in some badly reimagined revisionist history, and maybe some Lysenko-grade anti-capitalist bad science, and you've got a library full of books where the only thing of value is the shelves.

EDIT: According to the comments it's a "technical library", so there's also a bunch of catalogs of no longer produced Soviet vacuum tubes and such.

[–]Moarbrains 23 points24 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I wonder if I will be alive when people are writing something similar about our socio-political philosophy.

[–]yurigoul 11 points12 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Those people believed in neo-liberalism, can you believe that?

[–]ullrsdream 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Daddy, what was it like before corporate suffrage? Did the police really hand out "tickets?"

[–]MadMageMC 6 points7 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Good points, all, though I must say that if Fallout has taught me anything, it's that you always need some reference manuals around for vacuum tube electronics.

[–]yurigoul 7 points8 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

so there's also a bunch of catalogs of no longer produced Soviet vacuum tubes and such

My father would be so thrilled to have those since he is a collector (and knows his material, believe me). But alas he does not know any russian.

[–]orange_jooze 6 points7 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You're really exaggerating here. USSR wasn't North Korea.

[–]the_raptor 1 point2 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Until Stalin died there was little difference. After he died there was still a heavy emphasis on producing Socialist art and theory.

As it was a technical college most of those books would probably be interesting as Soviet scientists and engineers did go down some roads that the capitalist world didn't (but their poor silicon IC technology basically screwed them by the 80's).

[–]orange_jooze 10 points11 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yes, but saying that a library would be full of "complicated philosophical propaganda" is bullshit. There were ideological boundaries and heavy censorship, yes, but let's not follow the age-old stereotypes of "Glorious Motherland". There were heaps of great literature made during these years, some contained a slight, stealthy agreement with the regime (which is understandable since it got ingrained into even the smartest of minds), but pure propaganda had little place there.

[–]majesticjg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Thankfully, we can disassemble those old books, scan them and have permanent records of them forever if we want to without taking up space.

[–]kkania 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

To be fair, Lysenko is still a great read for his comedic touch.

[–]pyvlad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I'd love to look through it... even if it's useless information, such a huge amount of it must be fascinating to flip through.

[–]StevenSkytower 4 points5 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

But on the other hand they are "Free" to those who wish to claim them.

[–]theonewhocriedwolf 6 points7 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yeah same here. :(

Great photo though :)

[–]That_Damn_Sasquatch 43 points44 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My first thought was that I would love to go there and read the shit out of all those abandoned, unused books. Then I realized I don't know Russian. Dammit. :/

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Always time for learning when you're surrounded by books. Just make sure you hire a village boy to bring you food from time to time.

[–]esoomenona 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I though the same thing, except it didn't cross my mind that I didn't know Russian. I would still love to have them, and one day learn.

[–]a_lot_of_fish[S] 16 points17 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Here's the original source with more photos: http://jst-ru.livejournal.com/72590.html

[–]Gnorris 14 points15 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Missing from this picture: Burgess Meredith looking for his glasses.

[–]now100handed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this at first.

[–]cciulla 13 points14 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Abandoned and library are two words that shouldn't even be in the same sentence, let alone right next to each other.

ಠ_ಠ

[–]darkwavechick 10 points11 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

One time after leaving an abandoned house, I walked to the library to read a cool book on abandoned places.

[–]cciulla 7 points8 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Touché.

[–]Squatso 8 points9 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I never thought I'd care about a bunch of books being left behind like this. Now I think I'd just start pocketing them, then come back with a grocery cart or something and load up on some motherfucking books.

[–]Suburban_Shaman 7 points8 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

MUST SAVE ALL THE BOOKS!!!!

[–]toyg 5 points6 points  (5 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I always wonder: how does this sort of thing happen? I mean, I'm sure when people vacate such a building, they don't just randomly throw all books on the floor. I've gone through some office moves, and they can get a bit messy here and there, but certainly not to the point of throwing entire bookshelves on the floor. What happens next, security guards come in and enjoy their "Anarchy In The UK" fantasies?

[–]meangrampa 6 points7 points  (3 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Flip over bookshelves to dump communist rhetoric and take bookshelves. Nobody want's the books so they took everything else of value.

[–]LockAndCode -5 points-4 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That's pretty much the size of it. I understand the initial horror of some at seeing so many abandoned books, but imagine a library filled with nothing but 70 years worth of revisionist Soviet propaganda claptrap. There's literally nothing worth reading there.

[–]orange_jooze 16 points17 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Wow, at least do some research before reposting your bullshit everywhere. The library is mostly technical books and manuals. And even a normal library wouldn't be full of "Soviet propaganda claptrap".

[–]Ninjalicious -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This makes me feel a lot better now.

[–]andytuba 4 points5 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Neighborhood kids.

[–]redrocket608 12 points13 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The shelving became more valuable than the books. Life is fucking weird.

[–]Ivebeenfurthereven 7 points8 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Petition to make this the new /r/AbandonedPorn cover/banner image, it's spectacular.

[–]AlexanderNoys 3 points4 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is a beautiful, beautiful picture. That place got to have soul.

[–]Ghozt84 5 points6 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

the death site of a book elemental

[–]takebackthecake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It's a sea of knowledge, just waiting for a swim, like Scrooge McDuck with his money.

[–]TheThingy 8 points9 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Good luck finding the book you want

[–]fishfinger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That is epic, it set off a massive wave of shivers.

[–]razygrl 2 points3 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This kind of looks like my room...

[–]darkwavechick 3 points4 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Same but mine is covered in dirty clothes.

[–]raceylacey07 2 points3 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

These books must smell amazing!

[–]hautecouture78 3 points4 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Dewey Decimel is spinning in his grave.

[–]alttronic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You mean Melvil Dewey. Dewey Decimal's the system's name, not his.

[–]debeauds 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

All those books. This should be made into a memorial for them.

Side note: I would love to spend hours going through the books to see what I could find

[–]Sunny_Baudelaire 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The last safe place, is safe no more.

[–]BraveNewMeatbomb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That really old one on the top of the pile at the windowsill is display quality antique... if I was there I would scoop up all of those types just to look good on a shelf, or maybe use the spines for a decorative faux bookshelf wall treatment or something... false doorway. Why are the piles of excellent looking salvage always so physically remote?! :(

[–]alttronic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

this is incredibly heartbreaking.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Well, this is deep…

[–]Mattshyd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Arrrrrgghhh! I want to sift through all of those books so bad! Even though I dont read russian.

[–]misterAction 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The berks! THE BERRRRRRKS!!!

[–]Flash120 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

first thing that came to mind was the "factious pig" scene from "Children of Men"

[–]awesomemanftw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

suddenly: match

[–]Jarhe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Am I the only one who wants to light a match and let em burn?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I would learn Russian just so I could spend hours in this room.

[–]ElderBowlsV 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

you think someone just fucked the place up right before it was abandoned? im curious as to how all the books ended up where they did

[–]mrgregg92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The only way I would be okay with a book left to die is if it has been recorded, so that at any point in human history a search could bring back the digitized texts so they may live immortal. Even then, recycle the pages and convert them to new books. Imagine if all the books that the conquistadors had burned were around today to study and learn from. I guess there isn't quite a shortage of Russian literature, but losing the records is still a loss for us.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

OMG! HEAVEN! I love books!

[–]EWF_X29 -3 points-2 points  (2 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Those aren't books but Soviet propaganda left behind after the communists fell. There probably isn't a true sentence in all of those books.

[–]lvomrm 5 points6 points  (1 child)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

So you read them all?

[–]EWF_X29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Well I guess there could be a couple of Stephen King novels in there but I can't be sure. Thanks for the concern.
http://www.reddit.com/r/AbandonedPorn/comments/r3rex/abandoned_library_outside_of_moscow_russia/
www.reddit.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2014-41
169304
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:QX2RP7K2KT6C6E45IIRLADP2TCB43PRE
<urn:uuid:77d1aa51-a993-4a8b-846b-31a163175417>
2014-09-20T06:48:25Z
198.41.208.137
sha1:O3IXLD6ZDCI6FQJB2CDMQZAXXDCSR3BM
<urn:uuid:396b8f8c-03dd-41cb-8292-89c6b615a7e1>
http://www.reddit.com/r/AbandonedPorn/comments/r3rex/abandoned_library_outside_of_moscow_russia/
length
response
<urn:uuid:32f9f26c-8a16-4975-a97a-51961c549550>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2014-41
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web with URLs provided by Blekko for September 2014
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf