Another brave new world

Let Pluralism Live Long!
Author unknown, Eighties

Those who hope that we shall move away from the socialist path will be greatly disappointed. Every part of our program of perestroika […] is fully based on the principle of more socialism and more democracy.

“Perestroika - New Thinking for Our Country and the World”, Mikhail Gorbachev, 1988

“Pluralism of opinions” was one of the main slogans in the “Glasnost” campaign, which took place in Russia in the eighties. After the WW2 the internal contradictions in political life, social life and economy kept piling up for years. Stalin was cutting the knot with force, Khruzchev was improvising, but with no significant long-term effect, Brezhnev’s rule was called “Stagnation”, Andropov and Chernenko were too old not only to make any changes, but to live at all (Andropov – 68, Chernenko – 72, when elected), so only the relatively young Gorbachev admitted that the Soviet Union has got so many problems, which had to be solved.

But unfortunately no one knew what to do to solve the problems right. Anyway, the process was called “Perestroika” – “Restructuring”, and implied “Uskorenie” – “Speed up” in economy, “Glastnost” – “Openness” in politics and “Pluralism” in social life. “Pluralism” was to give the citizens freedom of speech and opportunities to express their own point of view, even if it contradicted with the “official” position, or positions of other citizens.

This poster is a brilliant illustration of this principle. It shows the four “Hammer and Sickle” icons which form the word “СССР” – USSR in Russian. The last “Hammer and Sickle” is inverted forming the Russian letter “Р” (and Latin letter “R” at the same time!). This creates the desired effect, as if one person (“Р”) opposes the majority (“CCC”). The slogan says: “Let Pluralism Live Long”. The choice of words is also deliberate – a great many of the communist slogans began with “Long Live…”, and this slogan although similar in meaning sounded fresh due to simple replacing of a word in it.

This poster gives an idea, that it is possible to improve the old regime and change the life of people for the better. Unfortunately, due to many reasons including incompetence of the leaders, painless switch to capitalism never happened and the initial enthusiasm died in a flow of social and economical distress of the nineties.

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Telling fish stories

Purity – to Seas!
V. Karakashev, L. Levshunova, 1973

Only the gamefish swims upstream,
But the sensible fish swims down.

Ogden Nash, When You Say That, Smile

Here is a social poster which relates to the United Nations Conference held in London in 1973. During the conference the New Directions in the Law of the Sea were introduced. They were to prevent the pollution of the seas by ships. From now on every ship no mater the home port, should have had a certificate, which proved that no mechanics, hull or anything else could pollute or harm the sea or its inhabitants. Before that tankers were just dumping hundreds of tons of waste and oil right into the neutral waters. Other major pollutants were the sea-based oil derricks.

The poster shows pink salmon or humpback salmon which is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon – making it quite popular in Russia because of its relative affordability. It is very sensitive to the quality of water it lives in. The interesting thing about pink salmon is that during the life time it lives in the salty water of seas and then comes to fresh river water for spawning. As most of the rivers flow into seas and may cause the pollution if poisoned, the choice of a poster symbol, which is familiar with both saltwater and freshwater habitats is quite smart. Another interesting thing is that during the migration in quest for the right place for spawning, pink salmon cover tens of miles upstream often jumping out of the water. This is why the fish is flying high on this poster.

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Making no bones

All start with “Г”
D. Moor (Orlov), 1941

I want war. To me all means will be right. My motto is not "Don't, whatever you do, annoy the enemy." My motto is "Destroy him by all and any means." I am the one who will wage the war!

Adolf Hitler

This is a poster made in a form of political cartoon. Four distorted faces belong to Nazi officials: Heinrich Himmler (Minister of Internal Affairs, he controlled SS and security forces including Gestapo), Hermann Wilhelm Goring (minister of aviation and one of the most prominent political figures of the Third Reich), Adolf Hitler (the leader of Nazi Germany) and Paul Joseph Goebbels (Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda - known for his zealous oratory and virulent anti-Semitism). These are the Nazi politicians who were responsible for the WW2 and the war crimes which took place in its course.

In Russian all the four names (Himmler, Goring, Hitler and Goebbels) start with the same letter “Г” (pronounced “Gh”). In the right column of the poster these four letters consecutively form right-faced swastika - the symbol of Nazi Germany, and say “First Г.”, “Second Г.”, “Third Г.”, “Fourth Г.”.

The slogan says “All start with “Г”. It seems to be pretty irrelevant unless you know that in Russian “Г” with a dot is an abbreviation of “Говно”, or “Shit”.

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If the shoe fits, it's too expensive

Resintrust Galoshes
V. Bayuskin, 1925

Galoshes are waterproof overshoes made of vulcanized rubber. In the last century they were worn over boots and shoes to protect them in rough conditions. Nowadays in Russia they are used only with valenki (a traditional winter footwear) – to prevent them from getting wet in slush.

Galoshes were a popular accessory. The roads were often dirty, so when coming to an office or a house a respectable man had to take the muddy shoes off. Galoshes eliminated the need of a second pair of shoes and reduced changing time.

Before the Revolution tanning and shoe industries were hugely underdeveloped in Russia. There were only few shoe factories, and there were no machinery there – only manual labor. 90% of all shoes were made by individuals and small cooperation manufactories.

The situation after the Revolution did not change, so cheap galoshes which could protect expensive shoes were always in demand. Besides, those who could not afford proper shoes always had an option of wearing galoshes alone or with socks.

The poster shows a woman-worker in her holiday clothes. The advertisement says: “Resintrust. Moscow. Galoshes with Triangle trademark. Every cooperative store should have Resintrust galoshes on sale”.

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Death to world imperialism

Death to world imperialism
D. Moor (Orlov), 1920

We must bear in mind that imperialism is a world system, the last stage of capitalism — and it must be defeated in a world confrontation. The strategic end of this struggle should be the destruction of imperialism. Our share, the responsibility of the exploited and underdeveloped of the world, is to eliminate the foundations of imperialism: our oppressed nations, from where they extract capital, raw materials, technicians, and cheap labor, and to which they export new capital — instruments of domination — arms and all kinds of articles, thus submerging us in an absolute dependence.

Che Guevara

Communism is the antonym of Capitalism and Imperialism is its worst implementation - that was one of the key Bolsheviks' ideas in the twenties. Basically Imperialism is the domination of people over other people. This domination may be economical or political; it may be territorial or national. Generally Lenin put forward several distinct features of that very Imperialism which was ruling the world in the beginning of 20th century. First of all the concentration of production and capital (which was necessary for industrial revolution) led to monopolization of economies: and this had nothing to do with free market, as always the most advanced and powerful multinational monopoly swept the board leaving nothing to the local manufacturers. And another thing was that now it was the financial capital and not industrial capital which was feeding these monopolies giving them enough power for rapid expansion and economical conquests. These two trends always provided plenty of opportunities to intensify the exploitation of workers, who were the second most powerful force in the country, Lenin’s support was based on. The main force was of course the peasants – they were promised property of land.

The poster personifies Imperialism as a giant serpent, which does not allow the workers to take control over production means – the factories and plants. In reality the nationalization was running wild starting from 1918, when “Nationalization” Decree was issued. All the major enterprises were already under direct control of Bolsheviks. The poster however relates not only to the internal affairs. One of the basic Lenin’s ideas was that the Socialist Revolution in Russia would spark the fire of worker’s revolutions in other countries, thus leading to the World of Communism without boundaries. So this poster gives the workers an idea that soon they would have to help their fellow comrades abroad.

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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”.

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That’s the way to shoot

That’s the way to shoot – every shell is a foe.
V. Koretsky, 1943

This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.

US Marine Corps Rifle Creed (Full Metal Jacket)

Amazingly this poster features a real person – this is Vasiliy Zaytsev, a Russian sniper, who made 242 verified kills including 11 snipers between October 1942 and January 1943 during the battle of Stalingrad. He is the protagonist of famous Enemy at the Gates film.

He was born in Siberia, where hunting had always been one of the main sources of food. Since the age of four he accompanied his grandfather during his trips to taiga. His main weapon was a bow which he used to shoot squirrels for its fur. Short firing range and targets’ natural agility required excellent composure, persistence and a quick eye. At the age of 12 he was given his first rifle as a present. The shells were scarce so every shot had to be accurate. These two things – extensive bow shooting experience and lack of ammunition were the keys to Vasiliy’s excellent sharp shooting skills. In the beginning of WW2 he served in the Navy, but soon volunteered for front-line duty. There he gained fame as a perfect sniper and received order to establish a sniper school. Very soon the Germans got seriously annoyed by the sniper success, and sent a famous German sniper to stop Zaytsev. This very duel was portrayed in Enemy in the Gates. It took four days and lots of cunning and persistence of Zaytsev and his fellows to define the hideout of the German sniper and make the final shot.

In 1943 his eyes were seriously injured by a landmine blow. He got blind, but after several surgeries carried out by famous Russian medic Antonine Filatov he recovered and returned to the battlefield. He managed to survive the War and died peacefully in 1991. He was awarded a Hero of the Soviet Union medal for his courage.

On the poster Vasiliy Zaytsev is pictured with SVT-40 rifle in sniper version which replaced his famous Mosin-Nagant. Vasiliy is dressed in a camouflage cloak, which is a standard uniform for winter warfare. In his hand there are several empty shells. In the background the graves of German soldiers are marked with crosses and helmets.

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