Posters from the Russian collection “Memory of the World”
Thanks to social media, digital billboards, and plasma displays in shopping malls and subways, information about the coronavirus, which has swept the world, is almost spreading faster than the disease itself. In the past, posters served as one of the most popular and effective means of communication between the authorities and the general public. These posters often had serious social components, including, for example, rallying cries to fight dangerous infections.
The national collection, “Memory of the World”, at the Russian State Library includes a unique and fascinating collection of social posters created by the best Russian artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These posters, which feature elements of Art Nouveau style and various Russian motifs, convey different themes and textual information in a distinct visual form.
At the turn of the century, charity organizations regularly distributed social posters to raise funds for times of war, post-war economic troubles, and pandemics. Following the example of Sweden, the Russian Empire began to celebrate White Chamomile Day as a symbol of solidarity with tuberculosis patients. The holiday was represented by a white chamomile, which is a natural antiseptic and the symbol of love, vulnerability, and frailty. The royal family, who were themselves suffering from phthisis, and Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, personally patronized the holiday. To fight the tuberculosis epidemic, flower bouquets and leaflets about disease prevention were handed out on the streets for donations, free lectures were organized, and educational posters were placed throughout the towns. White Chamomile Day reached its peak in 1913, when the House of Romanov marked its 300th anniversary. Every method of advertising was used to promote White Chamomile Day in conjunction with the celebrations.
In the late 1910s and early 1920s, an unprecedented wave of epidemics battered Russia. Over a short period of time, several million people died from typhoid fever. Moreover, the cholera pandemic that had begun in India at the end of the 19th century ravaged Russia until the 1920s, and multiple outbreaks of malaria were also recorded. The fight against these terrible diseases was hampered not only by a shortage of medicine but also by general illiteracy. Thematic posters were designed to eradicate the latter. Among the artists taking part in the anti-epidemic campaign were graphic artist Victor Denis, textile artist Oskar Gruen, and cartoonist Mikhail Cheremnykh, whose poster was signed by poet Vladimir Mayakovsky with a verse about the importance of clean linen in the fight against typhus.
Anti-epidemic posters were created according to a general design, with a colorful caricature illustration depicting the horrors of the disease and its consequences, alongside a catchy headline calling for a fight against infection. Some posters had a special sidebar with information about the disease, its prevention, and treatment. One even includes a caption to remind readers about the seriousness of the posters’ educational value: “Everyone who papers over or tears down this poster is committing a counter-revolutionary act!”
Irina Sheikhetova