Rare Soviet-era poster art  exhibition  unveiled in Yerevan

ArmInfo. To mark Book Giving Day in Armenia, the Museum of Russian Art ( the collection of Prof.A.Ya. abrahamyan) has launched an exceptional exhibition titled "Love Books," showcasing  a unique collection of Armenian poster art  from the Soviet era. 

The exhibition features posters from the late 1940s and early 1950s-the period of post-war reconstruction, when books were seen as a vital tool for public enlightenment and ideological work. This is the first time the works have been presented to the general public: previously, they were held in the collections of the National Library of Armenia, which houses one of the largest collections of Soviet posters in the country.  The curator of the project is art historian Artur Atayan. Back in 2019, he began researching Armenian poster art using the National Library's archives, and the current exhibition is the culmination of many years of research. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Atayan noted that the 1960s are considered the "golden age" of the Armenian poster school. The works on display, however, date back to an earlier period and, according to him, are inferior in artistic expressiveness to the posters of the 1960s. Nevertheless, they serve as visual documents of the era, primarily due to their pronounced propaganda nature and calls to literacy and reading.

The art historian emphasized that book-themed posters were published in enormous print runs during those years, attesting to a large-scale state campaign to popularize books. However, there was also the issue of selling the published products. Book print runs in the early 1950s were record-breaking for Armenia: in just one year, approximately 6 million copies were published-an average of five books per capita. A significant portion of the collection consisted of textbooks, but 20-30% was fiction, more than half of featured Armenian authors.

According to the study, in the post-war period, the Soviet government aimed to restore the economy and cultural life to pre-war levels. Of the roughly 50 million posters produced during the post-war period, nearly 20% were dedicated to advocacy and advertising, making them the most effective tools for mass communication. The circulation of books during the Soviet period amounted to approximately 1.5 billion.

"I wanted us to know what our people in the 1940s and 1950s saw  in houses of culture, at the entrances of libraries, on the streets- to understand, and what messages they received," Atayan said, noting that there are still many gaps  in the study of Armenian poster art. "I hope that further research will help fill these gaps," he concluded.  Note, the exhibition will run until March 25th.