Zakoni i obichai yunikh pionerov [Laws and Customs of the Young Pioneers], a poster by an anonymous artist. Published by Glavpolitprosvet, 1928, 105 x 70 cm.

This large photomontage poster illustrates key elements of the Young Pioneers Charter. The main goal of this state-sponsored children’s organization was to indoctrinate the younger generation in the Soviet ideology of the day; one of the consequences was that the Charter’s wording underwent numerous changes through 1920s. Every change, however subtle, triggered the need for producing new propaganda materials, as children were expected to be able to recite the Pioneers’ Laws by heart. One can speculate that the urgent nature of the job at hand led to some sloppiness — how else could one explain a caption to one image that reads “Our Mexican Friend, the Young Rebel from Hunduras”?

In terms of dating, the version of the Pioneer’s Oath used in the text was introduced in 1928.
,br>Condition: the poster is professionally restored, and mounted on Japanese paper.

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