Kochergin, Nikolai Mikhailovich

In the history of Soviet political posters, Nikolai Mikhailovich Kochergin is considered one of its pioneers. In 1918, Kochergin graduated from the Stroganov Central Industrial Art College where he later ventured into the professional world of graphic design. During the Russian Civil War, he supervised a poster publishing house and workshop in Kharkov, Ukraine. He was also one of the primary organizers of the Baku, Azerbaijan ROSTA (Russian Telegraph Agency) artist group that circulated posters throughout the Caucus region.

Around 1920, he participated in the decoration of the propaganda trains Lenin and Soviet Cossack, as well as in the decoration of the propaganda boat Red Star. In 1922, he relocated to Leningrad. In 1923, he became a member of the A.Kh.R.R. (Association of the Revolutionary Russian Artists).  

When the Second World War broke out in 1941, he collaborated with a group of poster artists, Boevoi karandash [The Fighting Pencil] and he designing post-cards for the war effort. After the war (and for the next twenty-five years) Kochergin created illustrations for children's books. His illustrations afforded him the title of Honored Art Worker of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.