Russian Art Movement
Vera Ermolayeva
Wassily Kandinsky
Vladimir Lebedev
Mikhail Adamovich
Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge
The Propaganda Machine Art Imitates Life in Soviet Russia, 1917-1984
What is the role of propaganda in an absolutist state?
Socialist Realism Means of creating art under state control since 1917 Reaction against “bourgeois” art (cubism, impressionism) Simple art for simple folks “Girl Meets Tractor” State policy in 1932 Ruthlessly enforced by Stalin as the only acceptable art form
What are the main periods of propaganda in Russia? The Bolshevik Era (1917-1921) was a life and death struggle for the Bolsheviks and their ideology. Helping to fight enemies within and without, the early Soviet poster was remarkable for its revolutionary fervor and powerful symbolism. The New Economic Policy (1921-1927) was a period of recovery and relative freedom for a country ravaged by war, famine and bitter discontent. The commercial and film posters of the "Roaring Twenties " were remarkable for their avant-garde constructivist style. The First and Second Five Year Plans (1928-1937) were Stalin’s draconian push to convert Russia into a fully communist industrialized power. The great photomontage posters of the First Five Year plan echoed the heroic side of this effort, only to be followed by the purges of the late ‘30s and the retreat from avant-garde art in the Second Plan period. The Great Patriotic War (1939 - 1945) brought a revival of the great age of the Bolshevik poster. The Soviet struggle for survival forced a return to symbolism that fanned the patriotic fires of the heartland. The Cold War (1946 - 1984) brought a return to "Social Realism," with utopian views of Russia and Joseph Stalin predominating. In its middle years, the best images featured Viet Nam and the space race. As Perestroika (1984 - Present) dawned, the most powerful images were protest posters created and posted at great personal risk.
The Bolshevik Era (1917-1921) Long live the Communist Councils!, 1921 Workers to Arms! You are needed by the Red Army, 1920
The Ten Commandments of the Proletarian, 1919
Cossack - Who are you with, them or us?, 1920
From small partisan group to mighty Red Divisions, 1921
The New Economic Policy (1921-1927) Citizens! Where are your Savings Book and Certificates?, 1927 Workers and villagers, join Cooperative Societies, 1925
Collectivization Women, adhere to the cooperation
The First and Second Five Year Plans (1928-1937) Fight lazy workers!, 1931 Forward to World October, 1933
Railway workers keep up the fast pace..., 1932 Inv
We do like Stachanov! 1936
Glorifying Stalin
K Trokhimenko
Isaac Brodsky
Ivan Alekseevich Vladimirov
The Great Patriotic War (1939 - 1945) How have you Helped the Front?, 1941 Let's give help to the villages freed from the Fascists, 1942
The Cold War (1946 - 1984) Honoring the 25th Anniversary of Fascism's Defeat, 1966 The whole world follows the path of Lenin's thoughts, words and actions!, 1987