Socialist realism is a school of art most often associated with Communist/Socialist propaganda. The Soviets were famous for it. They deified the worker, the party chairmen and communism and socialism broadly. I've always found it oddly compelling probably because it's so foreign and so nakedly propagandistic. (Ed - is that even a word? Me - I don't know, shut up.) Some of the links show some classic examples. I saw quite a bit of this on my trips to Prague. They have archived it in a museum cataloging the horrors of life under communism. The rest are sold to tourists (like me). The polar opposite of these are the propaganda posters produced for domestic consumption during WWII. Even those which resonate with cultural familiarity are still, in a way, strange. They are from a time that I never knew and don't think I completely understand. I cannot imagine being involved in such a costly war for 4 solid years. (Pre-trolling: Don't tell me that this way, in any way, compares with WWII in terms of casualties or sacrifice required. Look at the casualties for any major battle then vs. now)

The weariness must have been ominpresent and palpable. How they kept the morale up is hard to imagine. Maybe they really understood the stakes. Moreso than we do now.

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