[markvdb]

There's lots of very negative points rightly to be made about the Soviet Union, but lack of investment in high quality childrens books is definitely not one of them.

These things were heavily subsidised, so cheap even by USSR standards.

I've got a few Latvian language ones I'm particularly fond of. A compilation of Baron von Münchhausen stories for example - one of them the etymological source of the word "bootstrapping", or Astrid Lindgren's Ronja the robber's daughter.

Most Latvians I know, especially the ones of Latvian culture extraction, have very good reasons not to enjoy their memories of the USSR occupation, but childrens books in particular seem to be exempt. Within the boundaries the USSR set, there was an incredibly rich and high quality production. A sharp contrast unfortunately to a lot of what is currently happening in that space.