Lenin umer, no zhivet RKP [Lenin is Dead, But the Russian Communist Party Lives On], a poster by an anonymous artist. Published by Trud i Kniga, Moscow, c.1924-6, 100.5 x 65.5 cm.

An attractive Constructivist publisher’s advertising poster that serves dual purposes of advertising and propaganda - it promotes books about Lenin. Looking at the design, one is tempted to date it to 1924-1926 period. An additional argument in favor of such a dating is that the poster’s slogan, quite popular in the years immediately following the Lenin’s death, later gradually gave way to “Lenin umer, no delo yego zhivyot [Lenin Died, but His Cause Marches On].”

The name of the publisher should be familiar to viewers interested in the history of Russian avant-garde art movement. In mid-1920s Trud i Kniga [Labor and Book], the publishing operation of the Moscow Trade Unions’ Council, maintained a good working relationship with LEF poets and artists.

Another copy of this poster is in the National Library of Scotland’s Russian poster collection. The catalog describes it as likely produced in 1924-1925.

Search extension words /key tags: Russian poster, Soviet propaganda poster