In the opening paragraphs of his landmark study of translation, the celebrated children's writer and translator Kornei Chukovskii described translation in the early years of Soviet rule as follows:

It is certainly true that literary translation, into Russian and the other languages of the national republics, was ‘central to the Soviet project from the beginning’. The extent of the Soviet translation endeavour can be demonstrated by the range of new outlets for publication – journals, books, series and dedicated publishing houses – and by the growing number of works published in translation. The official promotion of translation – critics and scholars proudly pointed to print runs in the millions as proof that it held a particularly special place in Soviet society – was mirrored by a genuine passion for foreign literature among readers. For the so-called ‘best-read country in the world’, the publication and consumption of foreign literature was not only a matter of pride, but also a marker of cultural sophistication; translated literature was a crucial part of the ‘world culture’ of which the Soviet intelligentsia felt itself to be a part. For the many readers who were unable to travel beyond their own borders or meet foreigners, translation also had an especially potent appeal as a ‘window onto a semi-forbidden world’. For the cultural authorities, foreign literature could enrich Soviet culture and teach Soviet citizens about the world outside its borders; nonetheless, the consumption of imported cultural products could provoke a sense that Soviet cultural actors ‘looked to the West but were also repelled by it’.