Mother, do not throw up children! (Soborov A.?) Soviet Posters (1917-1941)

In this Soviet-era poster, titled Mothers, Dont Abandon Your Children! from 1925, a distressed woman, presumably a mother, walks in a snowy night. She is dressed in winter clothing and has a blue headscarf covering her head. Her face shows concern and desperation as she clutches her chest. In the background, a building with lights on is labeled Soviet Social Assistance. To the right, a baby lies abandoned on a pile of logs, exposed to the cold.
The posters primary message is a plea to distressed mothers not to abandon their children and to seek help from social services. The visual contrast between the struggling mother and the abandoned baby highlights the dire situation of orphaned or abandoned children. The presence of the Soviet Social Assistance building signifies that the state offers support and a solution to these mothers.
The subtext here is the Soviet governments effort to address the problem of child abandonment, which was likely exacerbated by the turmoil and poverty following the Russian Revolution and Civil War. The poster aims to encourage mothers to utilize state resources rather than resorting to desperate measures. It also serves as a propaganda tool to demonstrate the states commitment to caring for its citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, and to promote the idea of collective responsibility for childrens welfare under the Soviet system. The urgency in the mothers expression and the vulnerability of the abandoned infant are powerful emotional appeals designed to elicit sympathy and prompt immediate action.