Research Task: Propaganda Posters

Okna ROSTA (or ROSTA Windows) was short for Russian Telegraph Agency and publish Propaganda posters from 1919- 1921 by the government, using the posters as a form of "advertising" to make the public believe in what they had to say and what beliefs the government were adopting. 1

As World War II came around, Okna TASS were more commonly used as a form of propaganda, groups of artists were invited to create lots of different designs, each detailing the war effort of both Russia and its allies; these posters were brightly colours large in size and were often placed at shop windows to boost moral of the citizens. 2

The most influential artist that worked on the Okna ROSTA posters was that of Vladimir Mayakovsky, who created caricatures of the enemy showcasing their wrong-doings.

3

From there, the artists that worked on the Okna TASS was wide in range with the most recognized being (the previously researched) Lebedev, Lebedev was a "prominent" artist working with the ROSTA Windows and the TASS. Interestingly there was a group called 'The Kukryniksy' that worked with Okna TASS; they were very satirical in their work that aimed at the enemy; their styles were very bold in colour and would depict violence or rally together against the enemy side.

'For the Soviet Country, Tass No. 0534' (U/A). Kukryniksy (Porfirii Nikitich Krylov, Mikhail Vasil'evich Kupriianov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sokolov).

All the artists that worked on both publications had different themes throughout their time working, either to bring up morale, or showcase the latest injustice and cruelty from the war; bringing attention to the civilians and to encourage people to keep on going despite the hardships going on. 4

Looking at the UK Propaganda posters, I can see some similarities. The idea behind them is very much the same, to rally people together for the military or to gather people to work in other industries and boost morale. The styles vary from artist to artist of course, however for the ROSTA era there seemed to ave a lot more simplicity in design, more abstract. TASS developed into more of what we see in western posters with more fleshed out in colour and design methods, showcasing the enemy or their homelands.

There was one slight difference in tone from Western posters to the ROSTA and TASS posters, and especially in the UK posters, is that they all aim at the civilians, how they help themselves, how they help their country-- like planting your own vegetables, recycling materials, avoid spending. The most memorable one I could find when I was researching is this one: 5

'Keep mum she's not so dumb!' anti gossip poster (1941), Harold Forster.

The style is very appealing and the message is very clear, with the lady staring straight at the viewer instantly clicks that "careless talk costs lives" and to be cautious with who they talk to. I really like this style and message, compared to the ROSTA Windows styles, this feels a bit more personal than the other.

Reflection

This research task was really interesting to look into, I have more knowledge of British propaganda posters so it was really eye-opening to observe what the ROSTA and TASS had created for propaganda.

The ROSTA Windows was a lot more abstract and reflected nicely with my previous task and research task, and then researching the TASS I saw that it was developed into more formed imagery with bright bold colours with quite a bit of violence-- but I think that violence would've made people very aware of the seriousness of what was going on.

It was interesting to see the thought behind the posters differ from British posters to the ROSTA and TASS; and I believe the styles themselves differed sometimes because of the artist that created them. However, ROSTA clearly had the abstract style focus, will TASS was artist-focused.

1 Wikipedia contributors. ROSTA windows. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. December 17, 2024. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ROSTA_windows&oldid=1263549991. Accessed March 2, 2025.

2 Wikipedia contributors. Okna TASS. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. March 19 2023.

Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Okna_TASS. Accessed March 2, 2025.

3 U/A, Meisterdrucke 'Caricature Against the Monarchists, Okna Rosta', U/A. https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Vladimir-Mayakovsky/728691/Caricature-Against-the-Monarchists,-Okna-Rosta.html Accessed Mar 2, 2025.

4 D W Spring (Department of History, University of Nottingham), U/A 'SOVIET WAR POSTERS C.1940-1945)', U/A. https://www.ampltd.co.uk/digital_guides/soviet_posters_1940-1945/Nottingham-Universitys-Collection-and-Context.aspx Accessed Mar 2, 2025.

5 U/A. The National Archives 'Second World War propaganda posters', U/A. https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/second-world-war/second-world-war-propaganda-posters/ Accessed Mar 2, 2025.