Russian Propaganda Poster Weblog Project

Introduction- During the period of the 20th century of Russia, propaganda became a part of the everyday life of the people. People got used to it since it was used very commonly. Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or view. Propaganda in one aspect, limits the freedom of speech of the people, and generally, there is censorship from the government and the society. Censorship blocks the citizens from knowing information, and therefore, the people think in a way the promoter want them to think. It appears to be practically everywhere, in the media, that includes: the T.V., in the movies, and additionally in numerous corporations, governments, and schools. Propaganda proposes an illogical relationship, and in many cases it desires for an emotional response. Propaganda fundamentally does not let the people think own their own, as they wish to, but they are rather relatively instructed on what to think about, or what to regard as the truth. Through propaganda, we can learn the attitudes, what type of action they take towards certain situations. The country’s beliefs, of what they people believe and what they are told to believe. And the values, showing what they Russians think of what is the difference between vices and virtues. Below are 6 examples of propaganda that were use during the period of 1917-1924.




Long live the great Stalin! A parade which includes, tanks, military airplanes and soldiers is set up for the ‘great leader’, Joseph Stalin. This poster illustrates Stalin being known as the ‘father of the nation’, and this was what the Tsar was known as. To the citizens of Russia, Stalin was god to them. He appeared everywhere, in posters, statues, books etc. He was the father figure for all the habitants of Russia, and he was their interests at heart. This poster gets people to think of what a great person Stalin was and how much the residents of Russia regard him with admiration. It conveys this message by showing the army tanks, soldiers, and young children lining up to show their reverence towards Stalin. The residents admired him so much, they set up a parade for him. And Stalin’s name is written in capital, bold letters to show that he is special. This shows how much the people loved Stalin. The most effective concept that is portrayed on this poster is the people of Russia all smiling and walking in the parade, showing their respect. http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php



Translating the written text in this poster, it comes out be in English as, “Literacy is the path to communism”. In its first years, the communist parties organized numerous campaigns to go against illiteracy. The message of the poster would be that knowledge should be everywhere. It helps many peoples lives, as communism does also. Education is important, and should be spread everywhere since where, everybody would have been a literate, this promotes unity and equality. It is trying to get the people to think Communism is good. With education, life would be much better, as life would be better with communism. This poster conveys this message by utilizing the classical symbol of the winged horse Pegasus as the ‘distributor of all knowledge’. The most effective part of the poster is the man holding the book, representing education or literacy.The text in the book reads 'Proletarians of all countries ...'
http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php




A proud woman pointing at the library, a workers club, a school for adults and a 'house of mother and child'. She says with pride, ’This is what the October Revolution has given to working and peasant women’. The message of the poster shows that the takeover of the Bolsheviks was a good effect as it helped all the working class of Russia. It is trying to get the people think, that sometimes, revolutions can have quality effects that can change countries in good ways. Also, it gets the people to think that the takeover of the Bolsheviks was a good result, and that they have done several superior reforms to the country. This ‘turn’ of the Russian history was one good effect. It conveys its message by showing the woman gestures towards a library, a workers club, a school for adults and a 'house of mother and child'. The sun is shining brightly towards it, showing a brighter future for the working class. The most effective part of the poster is the woman. As they did not have equality, they were neglected in most of the things, but after took over, women could do some things that kept them happy enough, although they were not still considered equal as men.

http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php



The poster reads: ‘Peace, Land, Bread.’ This poster portrays Lenin leading the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. The Red Army was led by Leon Trostky, and Lenin, but since at that point, the people considered Lenin as the father of the Nation, this poster only illustrates him. It shows Lenin as the ‘father and leader of Russia’. He is shown leading the Red (Communist) Army to their victory in the Civil War. The message is very obvious, and it is that Lenin is the leader and the father of the nation (Russia), and Lenin is the only one who will bring prosperity, equality and unity back to the nation of Russia. This poster is trying to get the people think that Lenin is the man of God, and he is the only soul in Russia, to make enormous reforms. And also that Lenin was a good man, who deserves all the respect he needs form the people of Russia. This poster conveys its message by showing Lenin as a tall figure towering over the civilians of Russia, showing that he is their true leader. And also by showing the tower, it symbolizes that the Red Army is going to win, and earn their victory. The most effective concept about this poster is Lenin chanting the Russians favorite slogan, “Peace Land and Bread.” http://www.russianlife.com/article.cfm?Number=147



‘Long live the Red Army’ shout the people of Russia. The victory of the Red Army between the the Reds and the Whites, was the only way of how the Russian could have gained their proper life back. This poster’s message is that the Red Army is exceptionally significant, as they were the only road the Russians could trust. And also that is was an excellent outcome that the Bolsheviks won. It is trying to get the people to think that , first, the Bolsheviks are really great. And, two they are very powerful and that no-one can defeat them, since they are commanded by two dominant leasders, Trotsky and Lenin. The poster conveys this message by showing the trampled, defeated White generals are beneath the feet of the Red Army, who are all-powerful. The most effective concept about this poster is the Red Flag symbolizing Communism, or the Bolsheviks. And also one another effective part of this poster are the way the guns are pointed towards one certain direction, showing that they had only one destiny, defeating the Whites in the Civil War, and that they have accomplished it.
http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/sovintro.php



The message of this poster is that people should support communism, and that communism is good. It is trying to get the people think that communism is a very good type of government, and that people should support it. Also, that it is one way to improve the habitants lives. It conveys the message by showing a man waving a flag, consisting of three men. The man grasps a flag which portrays three Communist leaders. Out of the three men, two of them are Lenin and Marx. As a poster of Communism, the encourages all the civilians of Russia to support and have hope within these me, since they are the only way to improve lives of the Russians. Also, the red color symbolizes Communism, which was a good type of government. The most effective concept about this poster are the people on the poster supporting the communism by raising their flags, and by doing this, they increase the support of the Bolsheviks.
http://posters.nce.buttobi.net/219.htm

Conclusion- According to the posters, propaganda was a very important part of everyday life of the Russian people during the Russian Revolution. During those times, they were used for many different purposes, and were seen in many diverse appearances. Through these posters, we can learn what the countries beliefs were in the past, during the Russian Revolution. Most of these posters are about the leadership of Lenin, and what sort of good person he was. This teaches us that, Russia considered Lenin as a very significant man, and all the people supported him a lot. And also that Lenin was the Russians true hero, which gave him a lot of support. And through these posters, we can easily tell that the people were not allowed to think on their own as they wished to, but they were told what to think. Without propaganda during the Russian Revolution, people might have thought differently about certain circumstances, resulting different aftermaths. I hope you have learned about of what propaganda in Russia was like during the period of 1917-1924.