A - Ya

А - Я

A- Ya. Contemporary Russian Art, Unofficial Russian Art Revue.

Elancourt: A-Ya, 1979-1986

Journal for the unofficial Russian art, edited by A. Alekseev and Igor Chelkovski.

Chelkovski came up with with the idea for a journal together with Alex Sidorov who became the Moscow editor. The original idea was to prepare the journal in Moscow and to have it printed in Paris at the costs of the Swiss business-man Jack Melkanian. Chelkovski wanted the journal to be supportive for the artists in Russia, so he first had to get the materials out of the Soviet Union and than he had to get copies back into Russia. After the first issue Melkanian disappeared but Diana Vierny, the famous Paris art dealer helped by selling paintings to pay for costs. Norton Dodge was the main buyer to help to meet expenses. After perestroika the market became open and the need for the journal was diminished. The last issue appeared in 1986.