Toluu

A Soviet Poster A Day

Every soviet poster no matter the date of creation bears a stamp of expressiveness and graphical quality. The attention to details is awesome. The scope of techniques is endless. Soviet posters are a treasure chest with inspiration for any graphical designer, not to mention the seeing pleasure itself. And what's important, every Soviet Poster has a historical reference essential for understanding the layers of meanings it carries through time.

The Lies MachineDecember 18 2007

Lies Machine Gun (TASS Window #625)
Kukryniksy, Lebedev-Kumach, 1942

In a man to man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.
Erwin Rommel

No matter the actions,
Killer Hitler can’t hide his failures,
At Rzhev and Stalingrad.
To deceive people
He invented the “Lies Machine Gun”.
Which volleys lies nonstop.
The Machine talks nonsense at full speed,
But still cannot suppress the truth
As it is the truth that bellows at river Don,
And it can be heard on Volga too.
In Africa the truth is rumbling.
The “Lies Machine Gun” fires in vain.

This is a perfect example of

You play to win the gameDecember 13 2007

USSR is a mighty sports power!
B. Reshetnikov, 1962

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard for all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.

George Orwell, Collected Essays

After the WW2 the attitude to sport in USSR changed greatly. Before the War training was about building a better citizen and soldier. Now it became professional. The Cold War was at full swing and Stalin considered sport achievements as a perfect way to show the advantages and power of the communist state. The pressure was hard – to take part in the international competitions abroad the Sports Committee Head Roman

Stuff that mattersDecember 12 2007

Staff makes absolutely all the difference. Stalin
G. Klutsis, 1935

This is a quote from the speech delivered by Joseph Stalin for the military academies graduates in the Grand Kremlin Palace on the 4th of May 1935. During this event he also uttered another famous phrase: “This is the people, who are the most valuable asset”.

Like may other well known quotes this one has several meanings. First of all the thirties were a time of the Great Purge, when Stalin was getting rid of all his political rivals and of those, who might be untrustworthy. Due to these ruthless measures a great many of Soviet people were arrested, convicted and eliminated. Yes, the staff did matter: people should have been absolutely loyal to Stalin.

Silence is goldDecember 10 2007

Keep your mouth shut!
N. Vatolina, N. Denisov, 1941

The energetic verse says the following:

Keep your eyes open.
These days
Even the walls have ears.
Chatter and gossip
Go hand in hand with
Treason.

This is one of the most famous posters of the WW2. It was created by Nina Vatolina, a Soviet poster artist. After the break of War Vatolina along with other artists started making artworks, which covered the most acute topics both of battle front and home front. This one was aimed at increasing vigilance. It shows a working woman in kerchief, who holds her finger to lips, which is a gesture for silence. The face pictured had a real prototype, who turned out to be Vatolina’s neighbor. Her sons were at battle-front, so her stare did have a certain attitude.

The perfect citizenDecember 6 2007

Smoke cigarettes
I. Rosanov, S. Sakharov, 1950

Just smoke cigarettes. No brand advertized whatsoever. This was because in the Soviet times all the factories were controlled by the ministries, which were specifying the amount of goods to produce. So to meet the goals (fulfill the plan, sent down by the Party) the ministries were issuing orders to the factories and works to make quantities of, say, cigarettes for a certain amount of money. The factories were producing them, utilizing the suppliers (which were in tern coordinated by the same ministries) and paying with the money from ministries. The stores were to sell these goods at fixed prices. A planned economy that is. The only thing not set in the equation was the client. This year he needs more shoes, next time the interest is driven to hats. The planned economy is too sluggish to follow the trends, and moreover it cannot follow the demand, resulting in constant shortages.