Okay, so the comment section is full of debates about whether or not the USSR was a communist or fascist or good or bad countryā¦ but letās not get into that debate here.
(Iām Russian and grew up in Russia. Right now there is a trend of demonizing everything Soviet btw, at least in Russia. Iām not kidding, the government is sponsoring movies that do only the demonization.)
But anyway, that political shit aside, in the 1920s (Soviet Union just got formed and it was after a civil war with the monarchistsā¦) there was a particular demand for PSAs, and not just of the ādonāt mingle with the monarchistsā variety. A lot of HEALTH PSAs, which makes sense considering that the goal was to spread awareness, especially in smaller communities that were still following some dangerous practices.
(Translation: Only a vaccine will save you from cholera!)
But they werenāt always just images with text telling you to get vaccinated and wash your hands. Back then some PSAs like that were actually poems (quite a lot, actually!):
Popular art style of the time period btw. This is going to be hard to translate from Russian, but let me try:
Hey, you folks, look over here!
See, one manās already marred,
That oneās blind forever,
Those two, see? Theyāre crippled!
If you keep on being careless,
You might become just like them.
To a doctor run, right now
Context: This was before smallpox was officially eradicated in the Soviet Union, so the pox referred to here is smallpox. And yes, it could absolutely lead to (at best!) scarring, but it could also leave a person blind or with other āfunā complications. And it was contagious so it was crucial to warn the public about the dangers associated with the disease.
My feelings on the USSR are very complicated, but I think itās interesting to see how PSAs looked in different decades in that country. Art does reflect a lot of context after all.
snowghoul
prguitarman
discoholicmusic
pixelskylines
baratheonpilled
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
2087
kaledo-art
