Art in Revolution - ACE032.2

Scenes from First World War, Russian Imperial family in procession; aftermath of war: homeless Russians on the road, scavenging for food, etc. Street fighting and demonstrations. Destruction of Imperial symbols. Animation of Lazar (El) Lissitzky’s Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (1919). Demonstrations; crowds; Lenin speaking (a voice over). Peace. Peasants: agricultural scenes. Industrial scenes. Posters: A Red Presence for the White Master / Krasnii poldrok belomi panu. Each Blow of the Hammer is a Blow Against the Foe / Kazhdii udar molota-udar (Viktor Deni, 1920). Transport and distribution of newspapers and leaflets. Artists begin to give their work new social relevance, "with posters glorifying the Revolution’s achievements and lampooning its enemies". Most famous were the posters and strip cartoon known as "ROSTA windows", issued by ROSTA, the Russian Telegraph Agency. Vladimir Mayakovsky’s 1920 Ukraine and Russia Together / Ukraintsev i russkikh klich odin. One of Mikhail Cheremnykh strip cartoons: This is What the Tsar Gave Medals For… The Republic of Labour Gives Medals to Heroes of Labour. Vladimir Lebedev’s The Spectre of Communism Abroad in Europe and The Red Army and the Red Fleet. Civil war scenes. Cavalry. Troop trains. Picture and photograph of "agitatory trains". Film and photographs of trains and cheering crowds. Trotsky and other leaders making speeches. River steamers; Nadezhda Krupskaya on the Red Star. Trains. Mayakovsky and Ilya Ehrenburg. Fields.