• By Mark T. Hooker

• Walking Tree Publishers

• 2003

• Cormarë Series No 5

• 9 1/4 X 6 1/8 inches

• 324 pages

• ISBN 978-3-9521424-7-9

• Also released simultaneously in Russian as: Tolkin russkimi glazami

From the publisher:

"Tolkien Through Russian Eyes examines the sociological impact of the translation and publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's works in post-Soviet Russia. After 70 years of obligatory State atheism, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian society began actively seeking new sets of spiritual values. The Christian-like doctrine of Tolkienism has attracted a substantial following. During the Soviet era, The Lord of the Rings was a banned book, which was translated independently by a number of underground translators. The result of this is that there are numerous contemporary published translations competing with each other for the reader's attention. There are 10 translations of The Lord of the Rings; 9 translations of The Hobbit and 6 translations of The Silmarillion. Each translator has a slightly different approach to the text. Each translation has a slightly different interpretation of Tolkien. Each translator has a different story to tell. Most of the existing translations are only Tolkienesque, they are not really Tolkienian. They have been adapted to the Russian mental climate. This book relates the history of the publication of Tolkien's works; examines the philosophical distortions introduced by the competing translations, attempts to explain their origins and how they will be perceived by the Russian reader. No knowledge of Russian is necessary."

• Preface for the Russian Reader 7

• Foreword (by David Doughan) 9

• Author and Source Abbreviations 11

• Russian Alphabet 13

• 1. A Short History of Tolkienism in Russia 15

• Samizdat 17

• The First Translation Boom 20

• Perestroika 22

• The Second Publishing Boom 24

• The Adaptation of Imported Ideas 25

• Tolkienism in Russia 30

• Tolkianity 38

• 2. A Hobbit's Tale 49

• Editions 53

• The West is Dead. Long live God! 55

• Map 69

• Smaug 72

• Gold 85

• 3. Giving up the Ring 103

• Plan, Agreement and Promise 103

• Bilbo's Joke 117

• 4. Hope Abandoned 123

• 5. Sam's Job: Frodo's Batman 145

• 6. The Temptation of Knowledge and Power 169

• 7. One Day in the Life of Frodo Drogovich: Stalin and Yezhov in the Shire 185

• 8. What's in a Name? 203

• Baggins 203

• Cotton 210

• Crickhollow 213

• Derndingle 215

• Durin 218

• Entmoot 219

• Fallohide 224

• Frogmorton 230

• Gamgee 233

• Goldberry 235

• Hobbiton 236

• Isengard 239

• Lithe 241

• Lune 243

• Michel Delving 245

• Mirkwood 247

• Mount Doom 251

• Oliphaunt 253

• Pukel-men 253

• Radagast 256

• Rivendell 258

• Rohan 260

• Sandyman 262

• The Scarlet Book of Westmarch 264

• Shadowfax 269

• Shire 272

• Town Hole 274

• Treebeard 275

• Variags 278

• Wargs 281

• And the Winner is ... 284

• Bibliography of Translations 291

• The Lord of the Rings 291

• The Hobbit 295

• Hobbit Knock-offs 298

• Index 299

• About the Author 321

• About Walking Tree Publishers 323