"Let's make him a front-rank worker."
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"Poet: Lezunov, B. “The Fighting Pencil” group, 1972
They give everything to the hero
But ignore the working team:
Here they set records
Only for show!
In the former Soviet Union the highest form of non-monetary appraisal was the honorary degree ""Hero of Socialist Labor"" (although, in an economy where almost everything was distributed and demand was overpowering supply, this could turn into material benefits as well). This title was usually awarded to people who set record achievements in industry, for example coal mining (although scientists who had inventions were sometimes also awarded this title). For public relations purposes, many organizations strove hard to have their own heroes of socialist labor, so they created exceptional conditions for some workers to excel, while ignoring the rest."
Belomlinsky, M.
Rutgers
Rutgers
1972
Rutgers
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
Art, Satire, Cartoons, Soviet Union, Heroes of Socialist Labor, Socialism, Fighting Pencil
Russia
Our department is ahead again!
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"Poet: Yefimovsky, Y. “The Fighting Pencil” group, 1981
This road has just been completed,
But it won’t stay smooth for long.
For as the builders are retreating,
The pipeline’s coming right along."
Belomlinsky, M.
Rutgers
Rutgers
1981
Rutgers
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
The Fighting Pencil, Art, Satire, Cartoons, Roads, Irony
Russia
I need those who fit this measure…
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"The real interest of the party-state-managerial nomenklatura was “in maintaining at any cost their privileged position in society because it allowed them to grab the biggest share of the national product. The chief criteria of personnel selection within the nomenklatura were not competence or professionalism, but obedience and personal loyalty to leaders at the higher level. Administrators
and managers were not elected or even rotated, but were appointed through the nomenklatura networks of patronage and nepotism. The ruling elite was increasingly transformed into a privileged caste and an antielite, whose members stood above the law and the rest of society” (Chubarov, 2001, p. 146).
A. D. Sakharov, a great Soviet scientist and a well-known dissident, wrote in this regard:
The whole manner of getting a job and advancement is very strongly connected with the interrelationships within the system. Each important administrator has attached to him personally certain people who move with him from place to place as he is transferred. There is something irresistible about this and it seems to be a kind of law of our state structure (in Brown et al, 1982, p. 264)."
Cherepanov, Y.
Rutgers
Rutgers
1965
Rutgers
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
Cartoons, Art, Satire, Obedience, Loyalty, Nomenklatura, Soviet Union, Corruption
Russia
Good luck!
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"Poet: Shkliarinsky, A. “The Fighting Pencil” group, 1967
Young chickens better quit the squeak,
stop calling for attention:
New boss, the Fox, has a good hand… at cutting population.
Sign above the Bear’s table: “Human Resources Manager.”
The document the Fox is carrying reads:
“To Appoint––Ms. Fox as the manager of the poultry farm.”
Chubarov argues that in the Soviet Union “the system of elite recruitment evolved in such a way that party bosses controlled the personnel policy at their corresponding levels” (2001, p. 59). This, essentially, means that the Party held the monopoly on controlling who gets appointed or “elected” to posi6ons of authority in the party itself, government and all other important social structures—to the so-called nomenklatura posts.
According to Brown (1982), these are positions at various levels of the administrative hierarchy from the all-Union to the district level which are considered to be of political or economic importance and appointments to which must be approved by the party committee at that particular level. The choice is limited to people who are on the nomenklatura list and who have already, therefore, received the party’s attestation of political fitness. A place on the nomenklatura is also intended to be a guarantee of a certain level of ability, but… when people are removed from a responsible position because of shortcomings in their work, this fact is glossed over… and they are enabled to move to another nomenklatura post."
Cherepanov, Y. - First photo; Kunnap, V. - Second photo
Rutgers, Continuum, Free Press
Rutgers, Continuum, Free Press
1965 - first photo; 1967 - second photo
Rutgers, Continuum, Free Press
"Source: Brown, A. (1982). Political Developments: Some Conclusions and an Interpretation. In: Brown, A., and M. Kaser (Eds.). The Soviet Union since the Fall of Khrushchev, 2nd Ed. London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press LTD. <br /><br />Chubarov, A. (2001). Russia’s Btter Path to Modernity: A History of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Eras. New York, London: Continuum. <br /><br />Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications"
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Red Tape</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Russias-Bitter-Path-Modernity-Post-Soviet/dp/0826413501">Modernity</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Soviet-Union-Since-Fall-Khrushchev/dp/B000JDUYBS">Fall of Khrushchev</a>
Poster
Russian
Artwork
The Fighting Pencil, Soviet Union, Nomenklatura, Art, Satire, Party, Satire
Russia
Try to hit the target!
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
Cover of Krokodil [Crocodile] satirical magazine, No. 17, 1965
Inscriptions on the papers: “Complaint,” “Application,”
“Request,” and “Appeal.”
To access “the holy body” of even minor public servants has been traditionally one of the greatest problems for petitioners seeking help or support, or submitting complaints. Armies of doormen, secretaries, assistants, etc. have inhabited offices of different bureaucracies, making personal meetings of ordinary people with “decision “makers” close to impossible. The artist presented this
situation as a futile effort to hit the desirable target—to be received by the boss of an office—exposing numerous levels of the bureaucratic organization and the wastefulness of time and human resources they entail.
Fiodorov, Y
Rutgers
Rutgers
1965
Rutgers
Source:
Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublicaions
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Poster
Russian
Artwork
Art, Satire, Bureaucracy, Futility, Waste, Cartoons, Crocodile, Magazine
Russia
Horror of the bureaucrat
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
Cover of Krokodil [Crocodile] satirical magazine, No. 18, 1936
—It is terrible to think that every one of them
is not just a visitor but also a voter.
Ganf, Y
Rutgers
Rutgers
1936
Rutgers
Source:
Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
Art, Satire, Cartoons, Bureaucracy, Crocodile, Magazine
Russia
And you say, go swimming!
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"Poet: Kapralova, V. “The Fighting Pencil” group, 1978
A solution that can be applied
To this river’s apparent plight
Is to post signs “Attention, wet paint!”
To prevent swimmers from getting stained."
Kovenchuk, G.
Rutgers
Rutgers
1978
Rutgers
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
Art, Satire, Cartoons, The Fighting Pencil, Swimming, Pollution
Russia
Has been kicked like a soccer ball
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
Poet: Smirnovski, S. “The Fighting Pencil” group, 1974
A client with a request came to the deputy head,
He was kicked in a moment somewhere to the left.
The client appeared in the sight of the aide,
And a kick to the right was immediately made.
But again he was told: "It is not our business!"
And the client was swiftly sent... straight to the gates.
There the watchman told him without sorrow,
That the game will resume at nine o'clock tomorrow.
The poster refers to the Russian colloquial expression “to kick a soccer ball,” which means to “get rid of a petitioner by telling him to apply elsewhere (R-E Dic6onary, 1987). The place in which the action is taking place is a warehouse, where a person is trying to get some entitled resources for his organization (may be also for individual use). Because of the command or centralized economy, wholesale trade was limited and almost all the resources in the country were distributed administratively—through warehouses owned and operated by various government agencies, most notably by the State Committee for Supplies. In a shortage economy, resources were scarce and organizations tended to stockpile resources in order to insure themselves from unexpected shortages. Thus, the portrayed encounter with red tape was especially characteristic for managers of non-defense industries, but also was pretty common in the everyday life of Soviet citizens, when they were trying to get goods and services to which they were entitled from the many agencies regulating their lves.
Kunnap, V.
Rutgers
Rutgers
1974
Rutgers
Source:
Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square: Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary/dp/0942942116">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
Warehouse, Satire, Bureaucracy, Soviet Union, Fighting Pencil
Russia
The house with ghosts
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"Poet: Shumilin, V. “The Fighting Pencil” group, 1972
He is just a genius for a shady business deal:
Fake names on the payroll he shows as real.
But for his unreal and illusory luck
In the jail for real he can be long stuck.
The poster refers to the prac6ce of ""dead souls,"" a term coined after the famous novel by Gogol. In order to reach full employment, the Soviet government overstaffed many organizations. Some ""entrepreneurial"" persons managed to take care of business in the organizations with much less people than they had on their payrolls and pocketed the wages of the people who were on the list
only. These people usually were relatives or friends, or other trusted persons, of the managers who took the money. The ""dead souls"" also could be people who did not work anywhere but needed to have some working experience recorded in their papers in order to be eligible for some benefits (e.g. social security). They could work somewhere else and give all the money to the manager, or could split the money between them—depending upon circumstances."
Kunnap, V.
http://webpage.pace.edu/nreagin/S2004HIS296K/IrinaVinokur/images/Picture9a.jpg
Rutgers
1972
Rutgers
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji97vM8cfnAhUphOAKHapGChcQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRed-Tape-Square-Bureaucratic-Commentary%2Fdp%2F0942942116&usg=AOvVaw3itne_OTzN7RTVDFHi5THb">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
Art, Satire, Cartoons, Fighting Pencil, Dead Souls, Corruption, Posters
Russia
The "gted" manager
<h4><a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery/russian-posters-gallery">Return to Russian Cartoons & Posters: From Red Tape to Red Square</a></h4>
"Poet: Alekseyev, V. ""The Fighting Pencil” group, 1968
Sycophants and bootlickers
Are untiring as such,
And sometimes
Being praised by them too much
Has corrupted certain bosses!"
Kunnap, V.
Rutgers
Rutgers
1968
Rutgers
Source: Holzer, M., Illiash, I., Gabrielian, V., & Kuznestsova, L. (2010). Red Tape from Red Square:Bureaucratic Commentary in Soviet Graphic Satirical Art. Poughkeepsie, NY: NetPublications
<a href="https://vmps.omeka.net/exhibits/show/russian-posters-gallery">Amazon</a>
Medium: Poster
Russian
Artwork
The Fighting Pencil, Cartoons, Art, Satire, Corruption
Russia