Soviet Poster Art - A History Of The Soviet Union In Pictures

During the Russian revolution, it became a priority to the political leadership that the arts should be put into service for the new political party

. It was ruled that all artistic organizations were disbanded and only artists approved by the dictatorship could create Soviet approved art. Some artists were even executed for their failure to come into line with the new political party. At some point, it was decided that since the majority of the populace of the new Soviet Union was illiterate, the only way to promote the new political system of socialism was to create picture stories that were understandable to the average illiterate Soviet. Thus, Soviet poster art was born.

Propaganda, by definition, is a form of communication meant to send a message to the viewer and to influence that viewer to some point of view. The leaders of the Soviet Union were masters of the form. There were thousands upon thousands of Soviet poster art created between the years of 1917 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Many of these posters hailed the value of enlisting in the Soviet army and raved about the greatness of the socialist way over capitalism. Nowadays, Soviet poster art is a collector's item of great value because it offers a slice of Soviet life.

Other Soviet poster art was not exactly propaganda. Those types of posters sent social messages regarding the value of hard work, education and healthy behavior. During the early parts of the Soviet regime, for instance, infant mortality was quite high and so there were posters depicting proper child care and the virtues of motherhood. Also, at some point, it became apparent to the Soviet government that the much of the populace had a problem with alcohol and tobacco use. As a result, there were posters depicting men refusing alcohol and tobacco. These types of posters make for quite an interesting collection for the serious collector. Poster art with translations also make quite a conversation piece.

True vintage Soviet poster art can go for thousands of dollars at auction, especially those posters made by famous Soviet artists. A less expensive option for a person with an interest in Soviet propaganda or educational poster art is reprints of the originals. While the original pieces are often quite rare and may not be in as good of condition as one would hope because of their age, reprints always look good and are a good starting point for a historian or new collector of Soviet poster art dating from 1917 to 1991.

by: Vasiliy P Terkin

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