1st of May. The workers have nothing to lose except their chains ... (Apsit A.) Soviet Posters (1917-1941)

Description of the Soviet "Peace, Labor, May" poster

Soviet social poster art was a very diverse and multifaceted phenomenon. During the various years of its existence its background was based on the most important events in the history of the Soviet Union.

During the first years of the young power, the class struggle played a major role in the majority of posters of that time. This theme was relevant to the revolutionary years, when the struggle between opposing classes led to the emergence of a new state on the world map, formed on the ruins of the former Russian Empire.

The posters of that period picked up the class idea and conveyed it to the fullest extent. One of the founders of the Soviet poster art of that time was Alexander Apsit, a Latvian by birth, known since pre-revolutionary times as a graphic artist. He spent his formative years as a creator of works of fine art in St. Petersburg. There, being close to the revolutionary circles, he was imbued with the ideas of the class struggle. After the revolution he switched his attention to posters. In his opinion, this type of fine art helps to convey to the mass viewer the ideas laid down by the author accurately, clearly and understandable.

One of the most famous works of Alexander Apsit is the poster "May 1" he drew in 1919. Its appearance was timed to coincide with the International Day of Workers and Laborers. Given Apsit’s views on class struggle, it is not difficult to guess the reason why he decided to create the work for this holiday.

The composition of the poster consists of workers with the globe behind them. At the head of the workers’ movement is a man in a red shirt, clearly symbolizing the working class of the Soviet Union. He is actively telling other people something, while actively pointing to the globe, which already shows the beginning of the revolutionary rise of the workers, which began in Soviet lands.

This poster is a perfect illustration of the ideas and views of that era. According to them, the world proletarian revolution was just around the corner, and it was the Soviet worker who would play the leading role in it.