Figure 1.--This Soviet painting by Jury Raksha was entitled 'Slavic farewell'. It shows determined Red Army soldiers headed to the front leaving their families behind. The flaming area in the background represents a villge destroyed by a German air attack. This is hugely patriotic image without the Marxist overtones of Soviet propaganda before the German invasion. Notice the treatment of the sky. This is done with obvious religious overtones.

Soviet World War II propaganda is highly varied because of the sharp swings in Soviet foreign policy and shifting alliances. Soviet policy before the War was pursue a Popular Front with anti-Fascist forces in Europe against the NAZIs. This was complicated because of the ligitimate lack of trust toward the Soviet Union by possible Allies. This polivy was shaken by the Munich Accords which caused Stalin to conclude that the Allies would not resist NAZI expansion east and were pursuing a policy of encouraging Germany to attack the Soviet Union. This led to the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pacy (August 1939) and essentially an alliance weith the NAZIs and a series of aggressions resulting from the aggeeement top split Eastern Europe. Soviet authorities ordered Communist Parties in Rurope and America to oppose military spending to weaken their dfenses. Soviet propaganga at the onset of the War focused on Communist and the Marxist class struggle. Nationalism was not only deempasized, but generally seen seen as a negative force in the great proteriet struggle. The Soviets also actively suppresed religion through agressive atheist campaigns. And from the onset of the War , the Soviet Union was a NAZI ally. Propaganda attacked the American capitalisrs as well as the British and French. Posters from this era have not survived in numbers, because the Soviets after the War were ashamed about their alliance with Hitler and was an inditement of Stalin's leadership. This of course changed dramatically after the German invasion (June 1941). Marxism took a back seat to Russian nationalism which suggests where the heart of the Russian people was at. In addition, the attacks on the religion cased, at least publically. The Great Patritic War became a modern day crusade against Fascism. Images of women and children raveged by the NAZI invaders were meant to inspire the Red Army soldier. The images may seem over the top, only even the most graphic images do not capture the totality of what Hitler planned for the Russian people. There is no indication in Soviet war proaganda that the Germans were targeting Jews. This must have been known so this reflects a political decision by Soviet authorities. But much of the propganda art focuses on the brutality of German soldiers. There does not seem to have been an awarness of the overall German design--Generalplan Ost. Some Soviet war propaganda had an almost religious tinge to it. But Communism in the Soviet state had in many ways the outward trapping of a state religion. But what is even more evident was the historicaal tone. Gone was the contanst emphasis on class struugle an evil capitalists. Patriotic images of great Tsarist military heros were a mainstay of Soviet war propaganda from the Napoleonic invasion back to the medieval era.

Pre-War Popular Front (1936-38)

Soviet policy before the War was to form a Popular Front with anti-Fascist forces (Socialists, Communists, and other left-wing parties) in Europe against the NAZIs. Before the rise of the NAZIs, the Communists often competed with the Socialists rather than cooperating with them. This was complicated because many countries did not have left-wing governments and feared the Soviers as mucgh as the NAZIs, in several instajnces, more than the NAZIs. This ligitimate lack of trust toward the Soviet Union made it diificult to cooperate with the Allies (Btitain and France) and the small countries threatened by Hitler which lay between Germany and the Soviet Unuion. by possible Allies.

Alliance with the NAZIs: Non-Agression Pact (1939-41)

The Popular Front policy was shaken by the Munich Accords which caused Stalin to conclude that the Allies would not resist NAZI expansion east and were pursuing a policy of encouraging Germany to attack the Soviet Union. This led to the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939) and essentially an alliance weith the NAZIs and a series of aggressions resulting from the aggeeement top split Eastern Europe. Stalin always saw the alliance as temporary. But it was away of deflecting the German attack West and the hope that the NAZIs would be weakened by a long-bruising conflict in the West. It also offered Stalin enornous territorial gains, spliting Easter Turope with Germany. Soviet authorities ordered Communist Parties in Rurope and America to oppose military spending to weaken their dfenses. Soviet propaganga at the onset of the War focused on Communist and the Marxist class struggle. Nationalism was not only deempasized, but generally seen seen as a negative force in the great proteriet struggle. The Soviets also actively suppresed religion through agressive atheist campaigns. And from the onset of the War , the Soviet Union was a NAZI ally. Propaganda attacked the American capitalisrs as well as the British and French. Posters from this era have not survived in numbers, because the Soviets after the War were ashamed about their alliance with Hitler and was an inditement of Stalin's leadership.

Alliance with the Allies: Great Patriotic War (1941-45)

This of course changed dramatically after the German invasion (June 1941). Marxism took a back seat to Russian nationalism which suggests where the heart of the Russian people was at. In addition, the attacks on the religion cased, at least publically. The struggle became the Great Patriotic War, a modern day crusade against the evide embodied in Fascism. Soviet war posters provide graphic images of the Soviet struugle against the NAZIS. Images of women and children raveged by the NAZI invaders were meant to inspire the Red Army soldier. The images may seem over the top, only even the most graphic images do not capture the totality of what Hitler planned for the Russian people. There is no indication in Soviet war proaganda that the Germans were targeting Jews. This must have been known so this reflects a political decision by Soviet authorities. A Russian reader tells us, "Soviet posters never focused on particular nationalities, except rare posters dedicated to "friendship of peoples", alike "Russian and Chinese are brothers for ages". Soviet authorities dreamed to build a 'Soviet' people, without nationalities at all. About all people murdered by nazis only the term 'Soviet citizens' was used." Of course the Soviet people normally depicted was recognizable Russians. Much of the propganda art focuses on the brutality of individual German soldiers. There does not seem to have been an awarness of the overall German design--Generalplan Ost. Some Soviet war propaganda had an almost religious tinge to it. But Communism in the Soviet state had in many ways the outward trapping of a state religion. But what is even more evident was the historicaal tone. Gone was the contanst emphasis on class struugle an evil capitalists. Patriotic images of great Tsarist military heros were a mainstay of Soviet war propaganda from the Napoleonic invasion back to the medieval struggle against the Mongols.era.

Created: 3:17 AM 1/16/2011
Last updated: 1:56 AM 10/4/2021