Poster Plakat
Poster of the Week
“All-Russian Subbotnik-The Way to Revival of Water Transport” is the English translation of this poster.
This poster highlights subbotniki (Saturday volunteers) of the transportation workers. The word subbotnik combines the Russian subbota (Saturday) with the suffix nik for a person associated with something. In this case, it is a laborer working without pay on a Saturday.
Subbotniki volunteered on Saturdays during the period following the October Revolution to speed pubic projects that modernized Soviet Russia. The first subbotnik occurred in April 1919 when rail workers of the Sortirovochnaya Depot in Moscow volunteered to repair trains during the Russian Civil War. The first subbotnik with Vladimir Lenin in attendance was held in Moscow on May 1, 1920 and it amassed over 400,000 participants.
During World War II, the subbotnik boosted morale while aiding the war effort but in peacetime, demanding workers to labor on Saturday without pay eroded the original subbotnik ideal, and the Saturday volunteer effort lost public interest.
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About The Collection
Poster Plakat is a private collection of Soviet and Eastern Bloc political ephemera spanning 1916 to 1991. The collection contains over 1,000 original posters and poster maquettes. Sizes range from windowpane posters up to large, multi-panel broadsides. Numerous artists are represented such as Gustav Klutsis, Victor Deni, Nikolai Dolgorukov, Vladimir Stenberg, the Kukryniksy, Viktor Koretsky, and hundreds more. All posters are linen backed and ready for display.
If you are interested in using images from the Collection or exhibiting posters from it, please visit the Contact Us page for more information. You can also email info@posterplakat.com and include the name of your organization, the name of the contact person and provide your phone number. In addition, please provide a general description of the exhibit you are considering or the poster you would like to use.