Communism? Easy!

Lenin and electrification
Shass - Kobelev, 1925

“The economic historian Paul A. David […] noted that while the lightbulb was invented in 1879, it took several decades for electrification to kick in and have a big economic and productivity impact. Why? Because it was not enough just to install electric motors and scrap the old technology -- steam engines. The whole way of doing manufacturing had to be reconfigured”

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman

Another cool poster created after the Civil War was over. It says at the top: “Lenin plus Electrification of the Country”. The footer goes even more radical: “Communism is Power of the Soviets plus Electrification”. In the middle there is a call for Volkhovskaya hydroelectrical station to make the current. Volkhovskaya hydroelectrical station was the first power station build in the Soviet Union. The whole plan of electrical development of the country was called GOELRO (State Elecrificational Commission of Russia) and was considered to pave way for the economical development of the country. It implied not only building of power stations and lines, but also the plants and factories, which could use the power. Later it would be changed by Stalin and become the basis for the Five Year plans. But meanwhile as the country’s main goal was building of communism and the Soviets already took the power, the last obstacle was considered to be the underdevelopment. Hence the slogan: “Communism is Power of the Soviets plus Electrification of the Country”.

Buy the power lines photo posters at Allposters: