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This is how imperialists are disarming!

Poster
1932 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The so-called "imperialistic" countries, shown here as Great Britain, the United States, France, Italy and Japan, are represented as military tanks aimed at the bare hand of the Soviet Union. Symbolically, the USSR is conveying that it poses no threat. Meanwhile, the graph shows the rising military budgets of capitalist countries. Coupled with the quote from Josef Stalin, this propaganda poster presents the West as a hostile and threatening force.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThis is how imperialists are disarming!
Materials and techniques
colour lithograph
Brief description
Soviet propaganda poster. USSR, 1932.
Physical description
A massive hand pointing at the figure "2. 324 million dollars" appears above the image of military tanks. A bar graph shows military spending in 1914, 1923 and 1931.
Dimensions
  • Height: 52.7cm
  • Width: 73.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • (Cyrillic type)
    Translation
    The bourgeois countries are frantically arming and rearming themselves. What for? Of course not for discussion - but for war! -Stalin
  • Translation
    Military budgets of the UK, France, Italy, the USA and Japan
  • Translation
    Each coin is equal to 200 million dollars
  • Translation
    This is how imperialists are disarming!
  • monogram of N. Kochergin
  • OGIZ-IZOGIZ Moscow 1932 Leningrad Section of Pictorial Statistics
  • Price 40 Kopek
  • Tirage 20,000
Credit line
Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
Production
17/04/1932 ready for production; 07/05/1932 ready for printing
Subjects depicted
Places depicted
Summary
The so-called "imperialistic" countries, shown here as Great Britain, the United States, France, Italy and Japan, are represented as military tanks aimed at the bare hand of the Soviet Union. Symbolically, the USSR is conveying that it poses no threat. Meanwhile, the graph shows the rising military budgets of capitalist countries. Coupled with the quote from Josef Stalin, this propaganda poster presents the West as a hostile and threatening force.
Other number
LS.1800 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.1858-2004

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Record createdFebruary 9, 2006
Record URL
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