This collection contains nineteen Soviet political posters produced in the early 1930s, collected by the American physicians Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin during two trips to the Soviet Union. The majority of the posters promote the First Five Year Plan (1928-1932), a series of industrial targets designed by the Stalinist regime to build up heavy industry in the Soviet Union. Most of the posters are in Ukrainian, with the remainder in Russian. The posters depict various aspects of the industrialization and militarization drive of this period, as well as general themes in the communist worldview and important moments in Marxist history. Learn more by consulting the guide to the collection.
Selected images from the Bakwin Collection are being used in a web exhibit and upcoming gallery exhibition that is part of the Soviet Arts Experience showcase:
The Soviet Union was a world in pictures. A vibrant image culture based largely on new media revolutions facilitated its creation following the Russian revolutions and its re-making during Stalin’s Great Leap Forward, World War II, the Thaw, and Perestroika. Adventures in the Soviet Imaginary explores Soviet image culture through two of its most striking manifestations: the children’s book and the poster. Using examples drawn entirely from the University of Chicago Library’s collections, this exhibit plots the development of Soviet image culture alongside the formation of new social and cultural identities, from 1928 to the post-World War II period.
These images are available for members of the media, and are reserved for editorial use in connection with the University of Chicago Library exhibitions, programs, collection, or related news. Please e-mail Rachel Rosenberg or call 773-834-1519 if you have any questions.
Click on the thumbnails below for high resolution jpegs. Credit the Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library when using these images.
Red Front, Roter Frontkaempferbund in German, a paramilitary wing of the German Communist Party in the 1920s, worker standing over banking and exchange buildings, Dem'yan Bednyi poem, lithograph, 105 cm x 68 cm, 1932, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
English translation of poem on poster by Robert Bird:
“Rot Front!” is the workers’ universal battle cry,A threat to the whole band of bankers and stockbrokers.The brokers have nary a day of peace,Constantly faced with this.They would attack us, but they’re afraid:What an insult they’d get! Thunder strikes in our response:“Hail the worldwide ROT FRONT!”And no cannon or tanks will save the bankers then.Their exchanges and banks will never withstandThe charge of the Rot-Fronters!And the stockbrokers’ remains will flyTo the garbage heap!
Donets Basin in Eastern Ukraine, home to some of the largest factories in the Soviet Union, lithograph, 102 cm x 70 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Poster celebrating the 1917 revolution showing fleeing bankers, lithograph, 99.5 cm x 65.5 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 105 cm x 73 cm, 1932, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Dem'yan Bednyi poem, lithograph, 103.5 cm x 73.3 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Youth in the struggle for the cause of Lenin, lithograph, 103.2 cm x 71 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 72 cm x 103.5 cm, 1931, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 104 cm x 70.2 cm, 1931, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Explaining the importance of changing work habits, lithograph, 147 cm x 71.5 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library.
Poster for a new train line to the Ukraine, lithograph, 100.5 cm x 69.5 cm, 1931, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 104 cm x 68.5 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 106.3 cm x 71 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 71 cm x 51.7 cm, undated, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Lithograph, 72.7 cm x 50.4 cm, 1931, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
Poster explaining the importance of properly storing grain, depicting the Komsomol's work, and issuing combat orders, lithograph, 70.3 cm x 52.5 cm, 1930, Dr. Harry Bakwin and Dr. Ruth Morris Bakwin Soviet Posters Collection, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library
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