Are you among the volunteers? (Moore D.) Soviet Posters (1917-1941)

Description of the Soviet poster "Did you sign up as a volunteer?"

One of the first and best-known examples of Soviet poster art in Soviet Russia was a poster with the eloquent title "Have You Enlisted as a Volunteer?" It was created in 1920 by one of the founders of poster art in Soviet lands, Dmitry Orlov, who created and created under the pseudonym Dmitry Moor.

The background of the poster’s creation sends us back to the early years of the Soviet state. It was 1920. The country was in shambles, and in some areas there was an abnormal drought, which caused a terrible famine. The new Soviet government was still recognized by no one else in the world. The former allies in World War I in the face of the Entente countries (which were France and Britain) intervened in the territory of the former Russian Empire to overthrow the Bolsheviks who came to power and restore the familiar monarchical system of government.

However, the young state had a more serious enemy. It was the remnants of the Russian Imperial Army, led by such prominent figures of the White Guard movement as Denikin and Kolchak. The Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, created to fight these forces, experienced an acute shortage of personnel, both among the rank and file and among the higher commanders. In view of this, it was decided to conduct an agitation campaign, the purpose of which was to attract more servicemen into the ranks of the Red Army.

The poster "Did you sign up as a volunteer?" was created to help with the agitation in a more visible way. In writing it, Dmitri Moor was inspired by the most famous overseas poster from World War I, the American "Uncle Sam Needs You. Speculation often circulates that the artist drew himself as the image for the Red Army soldier depicted on the poster. The poster was also used during World War II to recruit volunteers to fight the German invaders.