Nina Vatolina, Glory to the great friend of children!, 1952 This 1952 poster by renowned poster artist Nina Vatolina employs serene pastel tones and lush foliage to represent the advent of the imminent communist utopia. Stalin appears grandfatherly with a protective hand supporting the young boy as he stands atop a podium. The symbolism is obvious and works on a few levels. In one sense, Stalin, now in his 70s and only a year away from death, is passing the baton to the new generation - those born after the war in a time of comparative peace. In another, the child is symbolic of the fledgling communist regime, joyously taking its place in the world with a promise of peace and abundance in the future. The child is identifiably Russian and, with his little red flag aloft, leads the union of republics into the future. In contrast to the 1930s when Stalin was often pictured with female children (passive and grateful), the children taking the USSR into the future are male. As a symbolic grandfather, Stalin moves away from the role of father of the nation and occupies the niche formerly held by 'Grandpa Lenin'. Stalin has thus moved beyond the role of disciple and occupies the role of master, an equivalent status to the deified Lenin. Both Stalin and the child wear white. This symbolises purity and clarity, but Stalin is also dressed in his Marshal's uniform, emphasising his role as the saviour of the nation in the Great Patriotic War. On his chest, Stalin wears the Gold Star Medal, awarded to heroes of the Soviet Union for exceptional feats in combat. The Spassky tower in the background soars into a benign blue sky. The hands on the clock are visible and show that it is late morning. Two aspects of this depiction of the Spassky tower are slightly unusual. The top of the tower with its familiar red star is out of the picture frame. The Spassky tower usually functions in posters as something of a Bolshevik place of worship, the star paralleling the Christian cross. And the crenellated walls of the Kremlin are visible close behind Stalin and the child. The Kremlin is being depicted here as a protective fortress, enclosing the pair in a lush and verdant garden that is safe, but separated from, the outside world. Nina Vatolina created hundreds of posters over a long and illustrious career. Many were created in partnership with her husband, Nikolai Denisov, who was the son of legendary graphic artist Viktor Deni. Vatolina frequently dealt with themes related to Soviet childhood, although she was also responsible for some of the most iconic war posters during the Great Patriotic War. She had two solo exhibitions of her work in 1957 and 1968, and died in Moscow in 2002.
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Dr Anita PischAnita’s new, fully illustrated book, The personality cult of Stalin in Soviet posters, 1929 -1953, published by ANU Press, is available for free download here, and can also be purchased in hard copy from ANU Press. Archives
April 2019
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SPotW56 Litvinov 1949
SPotW57 Serov 1942 SPotW58 Pinchuk 1943 SPotW59 Petrov 1952 SPotW60 Podobedov 1939 |
SPotW61 Babitskii 1944
SPotW62 Pen Varlen 1942 SPotW63 Bayuskin 1942 SPotW64 Belopol'skii 1950 SPotW65 Belopol'skii 1952 SPotW 81 Koretskii 1950
SPotW 82 Pravdin 1950 SPotW83 Vatolina 1938 SPotW 84 Deni 1938 SPotW85 Koretskii 1945 |
SPotW66 Dlugach 1933
SPotW67 Zhitomirskii 1942 SPotW68 Toidze 1949 SPotW69 Mikhailov 1937 SPotW70 Cheprakov 1939 |
SPotW76 Toidze 1943
SPotW77 Futerfas 1936 SPotW78 Mukhin 1945 SPotW79 Golub' 1948 SPotW80 Karpovskii 1948 SPotW 96
SPotW 97 SPotW 98 SPotW 99 SPotW 100 |