Stalin poster of the week 49 (SPotW49)

A.A. Kokorekin, Be prepared to struggle for the cause of Lenin-Stalin!, 1951

A.A. Kokorekin (Кокорекин, А.А.), Be prepared to struggle for the cause of Lenin-Stalin! (К борьбе за дело Ленина-Сталине будь готов!), 1951

In A.A Kokorekin’s ‘Be prepared to struggle for the cause of Lenin-Stalin!’  of 1951, two serious young Pioneers salute the viewer before a banner with the Stalin-Lenin frieze.

Stalin and Lenin from an indivisible single unit representing the Party, although now Lenin is in Stalin’s shadow

Stalin and Lenin are both apotheosised, as if carved from stone on a billowing red banner. Lenin’s head is less defined and partially obscured by that of Stalin – literally in Stalin’s shadow.


The inclusion of Lenin, and the reference to the cause of Lenin-Stalin may be in part due to the fact that Lenin was always a primary figure for the Pioneers. However, it also highlights the now hyphenated identity of ‘Lenin-Stalin’ as one indivisible unit representing the Party.

Oath-taking is a serious business for young Pioneers

The two children in the poster are young, yet already serious and restrained, as befits the nature of the oath-taking ceremony. They are immaculately turned out in their Pioneer uniforms and execute with precision the high salute of their organisation.