Vsyo chem Zhivet Derevnya, Naidesh v Bednote [Every Aspect of Village Life You Will Find Covered by “Bednota”], a poster by Yakov Zav'yalov (1887-1938). Pravda and Bednota Publishing, 1928, 71 x 54 cm.

The lack of color may seem odd in an advertising poster, yet it was probably considered appropriate for a newspaper with the somber name Bednota [The Impoverished] (1918-1931) that targeted the low- and middle-income peasant audience. It certainly should not be interpreted as a product of a limited advertising budget - Bednota, a sister publication to the main Soviet newspaper Pravda, had 150,000 subscribers.

We found very little biographical information about this relatively obscure artist. Tatiana Khvostenko in her reminiscences mentions the artist–decorator Yakov Zav'yalov among the handful of artists selected to receive a state subsidized “dacha”-studio near Moscow in 1934. The artist was buried at the Vagan'kovo Cemetery, the final resting place for many important Russian artists, actors, and literati. These snippets of information suggest that Zav'yalov enjoyed high standing, or good connections, in the Moscow art hierarchy.

Search extension words: Russian poster, Soviet poster.