Da zdravstvuyet III–y Kommunistichesky Internatsional! [Long Live the Third Communist International!], a poster by Sergei Ivanov (1885–1942). Published by GIZ, Petersburg, 1919 or 1920, 68 x 88 cm.

This poster appears in numerous monographs on early Soviet poster art, including those by Polonsky, Butnik–Siversky, White, and Rosenfeld, to name a few. There exists some disagreement in literature whether this poster was issued in 1919 (to commemorate the founding of the Communist International) or in 1920 (in which case it was issued in preparation for the Comintern’s 2nd Congress). Attribution of authorship to Ivanov is virtually universal — the poster is signed SI in plate, as are many Ivanov’s posters — although one entry in the RIAN images catalog assigns the poster to Apsit, with a reference to the Lenin Library collection.

In the early post–revolutionary years, Sergei Ivanov produced a number of memorable posters. Later he worked mostly as a theater artist. Judging by official biographies, the artist’s life was tied to Moscow, but, somewhat surprisingly, his early posters were mostly printed in Petersburg/Petrograd. One probably shouldn’t read too much into this — GIZ (at the time the publishing arm of the Enlightenment Commissariat) maintained large printing operations in both cities.

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