Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

posters during the Eastern Front were visual aids meant to elaborate a certain point in an accessible form, such as the attitudes of the Soviet Government to current events taking place at the front, prevention of defeatism and pessimism, or the inspiration of the troops and the people. The Soviet posters of

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 opposing ...

are works of art and reflect elements of the Soviet cultural heritage. Such posters were often displayed at special stands, referred to as "windows of

TASS 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) ...

". Posters differed both on workmanship and the form. Some were crude caricatures, while others were paintings on military topics or popular photos, presented with an explanation of an event, a quote from the works of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, or a poetic comment.

Popular themes

;"Motherland calls!" :The first and the most famous Soviet poster of the

second world war 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 opposi ...

. The text on the sheet in the Motherland hand is the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

oath. ;"For the Motherland, for Stalin! :The official war-cry of the

during the

;Who cometh to us with a sword by the sword shall die :Quotation ascribed to the Prince of Novgorod Alexander Nevsky who repelled

Livonian Knights german: Schwertbrüderordenfrench: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive , image= , caption= , dates=1204–1237 , country= Terra Mariana , allegiance= Catholic Church , garrison= Wenden (Cēsis), Fellin (Viljandi), Segewold (Sigulda). Aschera ...

intrusion into

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in 1242. ;Soldier bests the enemy in hand-to-hand combat :"In the skies, on the land, in the seas!" ;German tank will not pass here! ;Once again, we will fight off the enemy :Usually referencing Napoleon, but also referencing the Livonian Knights intrusions and the Russian Civil War after the First World War. ;I wait for you, liberator! :Russian child-prisoner of a

Nazi extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

. Other name of this poster is "

warrior, rescue me!" ;Death to the baby-killers ;Caricature :"Adolf, you can not." ;Dynamic portrait :"We are drinking the water of our native

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

. We will drink the water of the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

, the

Neman The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

, the

Bug River uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...

. Cleanse the native land of the Nazi vermin!" ;Raise the Victory Banner in Berlin! :

marching in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and the Allied countries flags on the Brandenburg Gate

References

External links

WW2 Propaganda posters
A detailed selection on World War II posters.
A Soviet Poster A Day
Detailed commentary on Soviet posters.
Soviet Posters
at SovMusic.ru. Large collection of posters.

Various collections of Soviet and other socialist posters
Finding Aid to Soviet poster collection, circa 1939-1945
The Bancroft Library
Windows on War
Online exhibition of the Soviet war posters held by The University of Nottingham's Manuscripts and Special Collections {{Authority control Soviet art Propaganda in the Soviet Union Soviet Union in World War II Images of the 20th century

Popular themes

See also

References

External links