Mi razrushaem granitsi mezhdu stranami [We Are Destroying the Borders Between Nations], a bilingual (Russian/German) poster by an anonymous artist, likely tied to Moscow VKhUTEMAS. Designed at the VKhUTEMAS Printing and Graphics School, Moscow, 1921. 71 x 53 cm. Print run: 2,000 copies.

Traditionally interpreted as an affirmation of workers’ international solidarity, and a call for a worldwide revolution, this popular poster is often presented as a classic example of early Comintern propaganda. In 1921, Soviet expectations of an imminent Communist Revolution in Germany were quite high, despite the failure of the Communist-led March Uprising.

Just to play devil’s advocate, one must note that similar phraseology was used in Soviet posters of the period in other contexts. Consider, for example, the motto of the first Soviet international trade exhibit (also in Germany, at the 1922 Leipzig Fair): “Cooperation does not recognize border posts.” One must admit though that the poster’s traditional interpretation appears far more likely.