Posters Against Stalin
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Children hold photos of their great-grandfather, killed in one of Stalin's purges, under the slogan "We know the truth." - At an exhibition this month, a Moscow gallery displayed posters intended to counteract what many say is the recent rehabilitation of Josef Stalin's legacy.
The exhibition was organized by the web magazine snob.ru and the Marat and Yulia Gelman Gallery. Poster concept by Tatyana Akimova, design by Stas Zhiysky and Seregi Kuzhavsky.
The exhibition was organized by the web magazine snob.ru and the Marat and Yulia Gelman Gallery. Poster concept by Tatyana Akimova, design by Stas Zhiysky and Seregi Kuzhavsky.
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This poster, stating "Let the motherland prosper and bloom," superimposes Stalin and a young supporter on a prison camp. - Before the 65th anniversary in May of the end of World War II in Europe, some Russian leaders encouraged renewed pride in Stalin's role in the defeat of fascism. A bus decorated with Stalin's image toured St. Petersburg, while a plan to display posters of the dictator in Moscow was scuttled only at the last minute.
Poster by Valdimir Potapov
Poster by Valdimir Potapov
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In the poster advertising the show, the slogan "Not a step back!" quotes wartime propaganda, but the image shows figures struggling under Stalin's weight.
The exhibit was organized in response to many Russians' apparent ambivalence toward -- or ignorance of -- the crimes of Stalin's regime.
The exhibit was organized in response to many Russians' apparent ambivalence toward -- or ignorance of -- the crimes of Stalin's regime.
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One poster shows a militaristic parade in which servicemen have been replaced by marching prisoners... - Poster concept by Vladimir Sorokin, art by Snob/Valentin Pozdnyakov
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...while another shows a seemingly endless chain of people in prison uniforms. - In spite of what seems like official approval for Stalin's return to public favor, President Dmitry Medvedev recently broke with the trend to say that Stalin's crimes against his own people can never be forgiven.
Poster concept by Dmitry Kureyav, art by Snob/Valentin Pozdnyakov
Poster concept by Dmitry Kureyav, art by Snob/Valentin Pozdnyakov
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One light-hearted work recasts the character Flanders from "The Simpsons" as a Stalin-style dictator, and asks, "Do you know what will be next?"
"Glory to Flanders" by Sofya Yefremenko and Polina Kozlovskaya
"Glory to Flanders" by Sofya Yefremenko and Polina Kozlovskaya