Russian Telegraph Agency (russian: Российское телеграфное агентство, ''Rossiyskoye telegrafnoye agentstvo''),

abbr. An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

ROSTA, was the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency may ...

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

(1918-35). After the creation of

Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

in 1925, it remained the news agency of Soviet Russia. Its name was associated with ''Rosta windows'' (russian: Окна Роста, ''Okna Rosta'').

Rosta windows

Rosta windows or satirical Rosta windows (russian: Окна сатиры Роста, ''Okna satiry Rosta'') were

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

-replicated

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

s created by artists and poets within the Rosta system, under the supervision of the Chief Committee of Political Education during 1919–21. Inheriting the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n design traditions of

lubok A ''lubok'' (plural ''lubki'', Cyrillic: russian: лубо́к, лубо́чная картинка) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories, and popular tales. Lubki ...

and

rayok A rayok ( rus, раёк, p=rɐˈjɵk, "small paradise") was a Russian fairground peep show. Performed using a box with pictures viewed through magnifying lenses, these were accompanied by lewd rhymed jokes. ''The Fall of Adam and Eve'' was one of ...

, the main topics were current political events. They were usually displayed in windows, hence the name. The first Rosta window was created in Moscow by Mikhail Cheremnykh (1890-1962). He was soon joined by

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

, a popular and prolific author,

Dmitry Moor D. Moor (russian: link=no, Д. Моор) was the professional name of Dmitry Stakhievich Orlov (russian: link=no, Дмитрий Стахиевич Орлов, 3 November 1883 in Novocherkassk; † 24 October 1946 in Moscow), a Russian artist n ...

(1883-1946),

Amshey Nurenberg Amshey Markovich Nurenberg (; April 17, 1887 – 10 January 1979) was a Ukrainian, Russian and Soviet painter, adherent of the School of Paris, graphic artist, art critic, and memoirist. Born in Elisavetgrad, in 1904–1910 Nurenberg st ...

(1887-1979),

Alexander Rodchenko Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders ...

Mikhail Volpin Mikhail Davydovich Volpin (russian: Михаи́л Давы́дович Во́льпин; 28 December 1902 – 21 July 1988) was a Soviet screenwriter. He is known for his professional partnership with Nikolai Erdman, with whom he was awarded th ...

and others. Similar projects were performed in other Soviet cities. Cheremnykh and Mayakovsky, for example, produced a poster in 1921 satirising a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

delegation led by

Joseph Noulens Joseph Noulens (29 March 1864 – 9 September 1944) was a French politician and diplomat. Noulens became a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1903 and served as Minister of War from 1913 to 1914 and then as Minister of Finance from 1914 to 19 ...

.V&A Images
/ref> The design featured graphical simplicity suitable for viewing from distance and often used

-styled sequences of pictures according to some plot, similar to modern

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

. The posters were not printed but rather painted with cut-out stencils made from cardboard. Once the required number of posters was painted, the stencils were sent to another city and put in circulation throughout the Soviet Union. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, this approach was reproduced in Tass windows by

Kukryniksy The Kukryniksy (russian: Кукрыниксы) were three caricaturists/cartoonists in the USSR with a recognizable style. "Kukryniksy" is a collective name, which is derived from the names of three caricaturists Mikhail Kupriyanov (Михаил ...

External links

Rosta Windows - Vladimir Mayakovsky
(Russian)
Parodies of Rosta Windows in the 1990s
(Russian)

English)

Bibliography

* Ward, Alex (2008). ''Power to the People: Early Soviet Propaganda Posters in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem''. London, UK, Ashgate, {{art-org-stub News agencies based in Russia Soviet culture Mass media in the Soviet Union 1925 establishments in the Soviet Union

Rosta windows

See also

External links

Bibliography