Markusha, Anatolii [This Is Where the Strongmen Live]. Zdes' Zhivut Silachi. 

Illustrated by Ilya Kabakov. 

Moskva, Izdatel’stvo “Malysh”, 1981. 
8vo, 79, [1] pp., ill. 

In original pictorial boards. Signed and inscribed to the rear of endpaper. 
Near very good condition, lightly rubbed and soiled. 

Signed and inscribed by the artist: ‘Dorogoi / Dine / ot / Il’I / na pamiat’ / s lubov’u / 17.12.91 g.’ [To dear Dina from Ilya, as a keepsake, with love. December 17, 1991]. It was uncommon for Kabakov to sign his books. The only edition with these illustrations. 

This book, written by pilot and author Anatolii Markusha (real name Arnol’d Lur’e; 1921–2005), was illustrated by Ilya Kabakov (1933–2023), one of the most influential figures in late 20th-century contemporary art and widely regarded as the most significant Russian artist of his era.
Kabakov, a graduate of the V.I. Surikov State Art Institute, began his career in Moscow as a children’s book illustrator – an occupation that provided a stable income and a creative outlet within the constraints of Soviet censorship. At the same time, he developed a parallel artistic life rooted in conceptual and satirical experimentation, far from the official art world. This dual existence eventually positioned him as the founder and leading voice of Moscow Conceptualism, an unofficial art movement that emerged in the 1960s–1980s. In the late 1980s, Kabakov emigrated to the West, first to Austria and then to the United States.
Kabakov first illustrated Markusha’s 'This Is Where the Strongmen Live' in 1965. For this expanded edition – which also includes 'Khitraia Tochka' ('The Cunning Dot') and 'Eto Vam ne Igrushki' ('These Are Not Toys') – he created a striking new visual concept and a largely new series of illustrations, some of which drew from earlier versions but were significantly reimagined in style and detail. All three stories are thematically linked by their focus on production: how tools evolve over time, how toys are manufactured, and the idea of 'strongmen' – not people, but inventive objects that assist in everyday life. These include both real and fantastical creations, such as a flying car, household cleaning robots, an alarm clock that wakes you up by spraying water, and what seemed like science fiction in Kabakov’s time – an electric kick scooter. The result is a work that resembles a livre d’artiste more than a typical children’s book. 

We couldn’t trace any copy of this edition in the USA or European libraries via OCLC.