The revolutionary 1917 year in poster images

In 1917 a political poster becomes an important source for the formation of mass consciousness. The article discusses the social conditions and causes of a poster campaign, analyzes the artistic content and characteristics of the early revolutionary posters. Among the conditions under which there was political agitation of the time, the author identifies censorship, high prices, dominance of text forms (books, Newspapers, leaflets, banners), limited agitation of the urban area. Confusion and rapid change of events after February revolution has spawned the need to create new dynamic ways of influencing the masses, political posters played a special role. The author identifies the genre features of the classical Russian political posters and compares them with the characteristic features of posters in 1917. Among the art features the author notes the lack of own poster style. The poster is created from the clichs born of book and newspaper illustrations, advertisements, which change under the new political tasks. Communicative-informative features include the fact that the posters often tell or show the new world order not calling for action. The clarity and consistency of involved ideas is often achieved not by the images but at the expense of the text printed on the posters. The text is primary in relation to the image, and sometimes is not easy to read and understand. However by the end of the year the posters are able to develop their own symbolism (images of the rising sun, broken chains, red flags, etc.), recognizable images (the oppressed and heroic workers, soldiers, peasants, priests thick, generals ringing orders, “kulaks” sitting on bags) and their own ways of conveying ideas.