MDE1 Research Exploration
FAO: Taslima Begum
Name: Justin Gould-Davies
Student no: 20342705
Date: 23/01/2009
Word Count: 2088
The Soviet Art of Propaganda
Contents
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Introduction
A brief overview of the early Soviet Union
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Chapter 1
Suprematism and poster design by El Lissitzky (Lazar Markovich Lissitzky)
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Chapter 2
Constructivism with poster design by Gustav Gustavovich Klutsis
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Chapter 3
Socialist Realism and poster design by Viktor Borisovich Koretsky
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Conclusion
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References
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Bibliography
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Figures
Introduction
A brief overview of the early Soviet Union
In 1917, the Bolshevik’s led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin had finally taken control of Russia. It had been
a bloody revolution fought over by Bolshevik’s and the capitalist opposition. This was a fresh dawn for the newly named
Soviet Union under Communism. There was a promise of prosperity and peace with
Lenin’s NEP (New Economic Policy). This gave the Russian people a new sense of
optimism and opportunity of a better life.
This was largely due to the implementation of the Soviet Propaganda Poster.
Lenin was very astute when it came to the use of propaganda. He was fully
versed in its power and was probably the first to truly utilise its
capabilities. He had created a fully functional propaganda production line that
served and manipulated the Russian people, albeit unknowingly to his audience.
In the first 3 years of the Communist reign, Lenin commissioned over 3,500
propaganda posters for the purpose of manipulation of the masses. This level of
output meant that over 20 posters a week were created. It showed how much
belief he had in his message reaching the people. Two major factors aided his
message; firstly the largest part of the Russian people were illiterate and the
bright colours, large lettering and impactful imagery could give them the
message without them necessarily being able to read it. Secondly it was the
cheapest way of actually reaching the people, film was too new and expensive
and lets remember electricity was far from being in every home, which meant
radio was also out of the equation. Lenin himself was very excited by the idea
of using film as a propaganda tool and said, “Film’s potential was just starting to be realised, and the medium would probably be
the most essential propaganda tool than any other”(WWW). This turned out to be quite true and was to be the case in the future of
the western world, but it was never to replace the power of the poster within
Russia.
During this relative time of prosperity, two major art forms (amongst many
others) were developed that would have a major impact during the Russian
Avant-Garde period, these being Suprematism and Constructivism. The Russian
Avant-Garde was an umbrella term that was created to encapsulate the
influential thrust of the then modern art that had flourished within the
Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Other famous movements during this time
were Symbolism, Neo-Primitivism and Futurism.
A new term was also to be developed: ‘Agitprop’. This was a blend of agitation and propaganda. The two words were married
together by the ‘Department for Agitation and Propaganda’, who were later to change their name to the ‘Ideological Department’. In fact, the word propaganda did not have a negative meaning in the Russian
language; it simply meant dissemination of ideas. These ideas were more of an
explanation of purpose for the Soviet state and the policies of the Communist
Party. The agitation aspect meant urging the Russian people to do what the
Soviet powers indeed expected them to do. In short, this meant propaganda was
supposed to influence the mind, whilst agitation was to make people act upon
emotions.
This period of prosperity and freethinking was to come an unceremonious end. In
1924 Lenin died and with that came the death of artistic freedom. There was a
massive power struggle over leadership and control of the Soviet Union, the
battle raged on for several years until Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin emerged as
the victor. Stalin’s views on the arts and economy differed hugely from Lenin’s and he set about dismantling most of his predecessor’s regimes. Stalin wanted more stringent controls over the arts and media; he
wanted everything to be monitored and strict guidelines to be adhered to. The
Russian Avant-Garde period was over and had been replaced by Socialist (Soviet)
Realism. Socialist Realism was much less of grand affair with Stalin’s constraints, but was it the end of cutting edge design?
Chapter 1
Suprematism and poster design by El Lissitzky (Lazar Markovich Lissitzky)
The art movement known as ‘Suprematism’ originated around 1916. Suprematism mainly focused on geometric forms such as
the square and the circle. The artist Kasimir Malevich principally started this
movement; he described ‘Suprematism’ as ‘the Victory over Sun’. He once said, “I felt only night within me and it was then that I conceived the new art, which
I called Suprematism”. (WWW) It’s essentially a study in abstract shapes and self-perpetuating forms. The idea
was not to be objective, but to be related to geometric shapes and colours.
El Lissitzky was the leading figure in industrial design and propaganda. He was
a painter, designer, photographer and architect in his own right. He, with his
mentor Kasimir Malevich, set up the UNOVIS art group (‘Utverditeli Novogo Iskusstva’, which is translated as ‘The Champions of the New Art’).
Lissitzky had given himself a mission: he wanted his own artistic aims to work
in tandem with the Soviet state. A perfect example of this is his propaganda
poster from 1920, entitled ‘Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge’. This piece perfectly represents the Supremacist movement. This may at first
appear simplistic but it is far from that, its a bold piece of art, designed to
have a use but ultimately impactful. This poster only uses the colours black
and red on a white background. This was partly to do with the cost of printing
but largely to do with the creation of a bold statement. The text on the left hand in Russian reads ‘Klinom Krasnim’ which translated means ‘with Red Wedge’, which is symbolic of Communism. The Red triangle is revolution, which is why
it is so bold and imposing, creating a statement of intention by breaking
through the gates of opposition. The triangle then pierces through the white
circle, a representation of the anti-revolutionaries; they were in opposition
to the Communists, but not any specific party.
Figure 1. ‘ Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge’. El Lissitzky, 1920
By stabbing through the heart of the white circle it gives the impression that
Communism is all-powerful and will overcome all adversaries. The text on the
right hand side of the poster reads “Bey Belych”, which translates as ‘Beat Whites’. You will probably notice that the text is small and isn’t over bearing; this is because of the high number of illiterate Russians. The
point had to be made without the poster actually relying on it being rea
If you look around the poster you will see different sized smaller shapes and
fragments, red triangles and the far less dynamic rectangles, representing the
whites. This shows that even though the communists are large and powerful, they
are not afraid to split up and oppose the whites on a face-to-face basis,
seeking them out, no matter where they may be. This poster served its purpose
well and helped cement the stronghold of the Soviets.
