Soviet World War II Propaganda Posters
The Soviet Union
World War II Propaganda Posters​
​During World War II, the Soviet Union used posters as visual aids to portrait their attitudes towards the war. These posters were meant to persuade the people to think in the same way that the government was. These propaganda posters also served as inspiration for the Soviet people in a way that was easily reproducible and able to be displayed almost anywhere. There is a wide range of content that these posters display, but this exhibit focuses on home front/production propaganda, women's role in propaganda, and war/soldier propaganda. These topics encompass some of the most popular propaganda posters of the time. The way that this content is represented also ranges greatly, but most commonly figures are represented as silhouettes, realistic drawings, photographs, or combinations of these visual representations.
The exhibit shows a wide range of styles in which these posters were represented. This is done to give a clear understanding that these posters were done by multiple artists with a wide array of ideas, motives, end goals, and artistic styles. This gave the audience numerous different visual representations of what was happening with the war and their country. Having this variety is important because the posters are able to catch the attention of a much larger audience. This gives the viewer of the exhibit what society was like back during the war. These posters tell a story of the attitude during WWII. Many of these posters encourage killing or involve weapons meant for killing. Death is often thought of as a very dark thing, but these posters seem to bring a lightness to it, and they also openly encourage the slaughter of their enemies. The posters also say that the country was fully behind the war. Had the people been against it, these posters may have read very differently.
This exhibit aims to appeal to people particularly interested in World War II and the Soviet Union in particular. These posters are of great historical significance and create a very important influence on how people felt towards the war. The propaganda acts as a stand in for the mentality of the people during this time. The layout of the site was driven by the unclean nature of war, therefore a grunge theme was carried throughout the site. Grunge allows the viewer to feel a war-like vibe in that war is dirty and in no way is it clear cut. Photographs from war zones often show soldiers, buildings, and other various things broken, dirty, and a mess. In many ways, this is the same feel that grunge gives off. The site breaks down the three categories on their own separate page, as well as a full gallery of all of the images at the end.
This curated online exhibit was created to fulfill an assignment for a course in Russian visual and material culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The website is for educational purposes only.