key visuals

"Storming of the Winter Palace"

This is a key image because it depicts the communists taking charge and rioting against the provisional government who took the place of the Tsar. It was after this that Lenin came into power and Russia became a communist state.

"Cocoa'

Artist Rodchenko and write Mayerkovsky created advertisements for the government owned supermarket branding for all the products sold within it. It is a key image because it illustrates how the propaganda aesthetic infiltrated all areas of Russia, even the slogans for the cocoa was propaganda-esque; it read: 

“Comrades, don’t argue! Soviet citizens will become stronger in sport. In our might is our right. And where is this strength? In this cocoa”

They would often appeal to viewers sense of guilt, use literary techniques within the writing such as repetition and alliteration, they made out that buying this product would in some way benefit society - food advertisements were also being used as a tool to promote the communist philosophy

Vladimir Tatlin - "Counter-Relief" and "Monument to the third International"

This is a key image because it illustrates how creations made out of the early 1913 movement 'Suprematism' were altered to fit the government's requirements. Suprematism and early constructivism was still focused around non-objective ideas, and work that was created was not functional in society. So with these sculptures Tatlin produced, he altered and developed the idea into a proposal for a new government building which was considered to be helping the revolutionary cause

"Beat the Whites with the Red wedge"

A piece of propaganda produced by El Lissitzky, he was a suprematist artist, a movement which was considered non-functional, too speculative and a waste of time by constructivists and the communist government. But this piece demonstrates how the suprematist style could be used to illustrate a clear message using geometric and non-representational shapes. It became a key propaganda poster because of the lack of words - Russia had a very high illiteracy rate, and this poster sends a clear, revolutionary message without the use of words

"Have you volunteered for the Red Army?"

A propaganda poster by Dmitry Moor, it is key because it illustrates the Communist party's constant appeal to viewers sense of guilt and fear. The Russian workers were pushed to rise up against imperialism and fight for the communist cause.