Capitalism!http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php
This picture is drawn by Russian artist during the cold war. The main subject it is trying to deliver is evil of capitalism. Since communism was from the idea of Marxism, they strongly oppose capitalism. During that time, Russia rivaled with the great capitalist country, United States. In order to get people to unite and accept the communism way, Russian used propaganda to show the dark side of capitalism. We can see that although the man in this poster is wealthy, he looks hideous. He has an evil look and expression. He is wearing an ugly heart chain. This poster did not lie to people about capitalism. They just stereotype the worse part of it to manipulate the people. By doing this, the communist government can prove that communist is the best system to rule USSR. The effectiveness of this poster is its ability to show the bad part of capitalism through simple drawing and short caption.
In the USA there is a: “Road of a Talent”, a grayscale part of an image. In Russia, there is “Road to Talent”.Poster from http://englishrussia.com/?p=316
In this poster, we can see that the artist used contrast between two colors to represent his/her view point. On the left, a black and white image of a boy holding his violin discouragingly and on the right is a boy with violin in a concert hall, playing with passion. The black and white picture’s caption is ‘In US, there is a Road of a Talent’, while the sepia one says ‘In Russia, there is a Road to Talent’. From this, we can tell that the artist showed favor toward communism. The grayscale picture gave feeling of despair and hopelessness while the sepia side emphasized elegant and proud feelings. The artist is trying to encourage Russians to trust their country because USSR will lead them to success, which US can’t. The color and straight forward caption in the poster make it effective and persuading.
This poster shows American who didn't believe Russian 5 years plan would work
Poster from http://englishrussia.com/?p=316
This poster shows one main character, in which I assume it represents America. The artist gave the man an evil look through his pointy nose. The man appears to be laughing at the book which indicated ‘5 year plan’ in the first place but shocked in the lower box where factories are being build in the USSR. The poster showed how the USSR amazed the world by their accomplishment to industrialize. America, the number one industrial power was even surprise by Russia’s major success. I think the purpose of this poster is to ensure Russians about their stable position in the world economy. The effectiveness of this poster is its simple message deliver through easy, comic style drawing. It attracts more audience because of the small ironic expression in the cartoon.
"What the October Revolution has given to working and peasant women"http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php
This attractive poster is represents propaganda very well. The picture is representing how the October Revolution opened the door to education for Russian girls. The picture showed a lady in pretty dress, which confirms her living condition, with library at the background. The vibrant background persuades audience to think that the lady is happy. The artist try to express hope and happiness October Revolution gave to Russians. Since this poster focuses on ‘peasant women’, who did not have much role in earlier course of Russian history, it meant they’re trying to gather believes of the peasant lady. The artist try to show that communism gives opportunity to woman who did not really have a say before. By doing this, it would make Russian woman engage to the situation and respect the idea of communism. I think the effectiveness of this poster is its color choice and beautiful graphic. However, it would appeal more to Russian since it’s unique from other poster where men are mostly the subject.
Long live the great Stalin!http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php
This poster, celebrating the feast of Stalin, shows great deal of nationalism. The caption indicates ‘long live the great Stalin!’. The position of each detail also shows us the priority in Russia. Stalin is the biggest, most eye-catching character even if there’s only one of him. Soldiers were the next in line, representing part of the population. However, the small part of this poster represents the rest of Russia, the majority of them. This poster delivers a message of how great and helpful Stalin is to USSR and that everyone loved him. It tries to convince us to believe that Russians honored Stalin for his great leadership and how communism opens the Russians door to the world. I think that is what the artist tried to express through image of planes. In reality, however, that might not be the truth. This poster could have been made to manipulate the people’s mine, like the fact that propaganda force ideas to people’s brain. The effectiveness of this poster is it shows Stalin in his brighter side and engaging Russian’s to feel like they have a part to celebrate the joy.
With Lenin's banner we were and will be victorious, 1932http://www.internationalposter.com/poster-details.aspx?id=RUL09836
This picture was published in the year 1932. However, the main lead is Lenin, the guy who influenced the world to become communist. This poster shows propaganda because it only deliver message from one side. The four sub characters are communist leaders in various part of the world. I can identify one, a Vietnamese. Vietnam also had a struggle for changes. This poster could ensure the Vietnamese people to support the communist side because it says ‘With Lenin’s banner we were and will be victorious’. Since this poster is trying to gain people’s trust, it used the brighter side of communism by using Lenin as an idol. Stalin, on the other hand, tends to remind people of the dull side. The effectiveness of this poster is showing great deal of communist power. It convinces people to think that under communist, you unite strongly as one.
In conclusion, propaganda had great impact on Russia and its people. The influence from propaganda posters shaped Russia’s history. Its ability to spread widely over short period of time had gained a lot of support for the communist party in Russia, which later on impacted other parts of the world. The attractiveness of artful images which hide beneath it a political viewpoint served Russian communist well. It built walls between communism and capitalism. The government used posters to ensure Russia’s position in the world stage. They tried to bring out the good side of USSR by comparing it with U.S. so that the people would become nationalist and have ambition to fulfill government’s plan. The posters worked as a media to deliver these propaganda ideas throughout all classes in the society. From this project, a lesson is learned. We may not realize, but propaganda is still use today, both directly and indirectly.
