Stalin poster of the week 116 (SPotW116)

Unknown artist, Six historical conditions of Comrade Stalin, undated

Unknown artist, Six historical conditions of Comrade Stalin (шесть исторических условий Т. Сталина), undated

Yet another 'six conditions' poster on cheap paper, this time unsigned and undated. As the speech by Stalin from which the six conditions are taken was delivered on June 23, 1931, the poster post-dates this speech.

A dapper, slightly shifty-eyed Stalin appeals directly to the viewer

The poster appears to have been created in the early 1930s, as both the style and the Stalin portrait are of that time. The cameo format of the portrait places this poster within the tradition of informative and statistical posters of early Stalinism.

Agricultural workers were often depicted as female. This woman is identified as a new Soviet woman because she is driving a tractor, is coloured red, and wears a red headscarf tied behind the neck in the Bolshevik fashion (in contrast to the old babushkas who tied their scarves under their chins)

The poster shows scenes of industrialisation at the top and agricultural collectivisation at the bottom. The use of red fill denotes the socialist nature of this progress.


Strong diagonals among the industrial construction lead the eye to the medallion photographic portrait of Stalin. Stalin gazes directly at the viewer, appealing to them to adopt his six conditions.


The text of the poster reads:

1. 1.Recruit manpower in an organised way, by means of contracts with the collective farms, and mechanise labour
   
2. 2.Put an end to labor mobility, do away with wage equalisation, organize the payment of wages properly, and improve the living conditions of workers
   
3. 3.Put an end to the lack of personal responsibility at work, improve the organisation of work, arrange the proper distribution of forces in our enterprises.
   
4. 4.See to it that the working class of the USSR has its own industrial and technical intelligentsia
   
5. 5.Change our attitudes towards the engineers and technicians of the old school, show them greater attention and solicitude, and enlist their cooperation in work more bravely
   
6. 6.Introduce and reinforce financial accountability and increase the accumulation of resources within industry