Russian Telegraph Agency (russian: Российское телеграфное агентство, ''Rossiyskoye telegrafnoye agentstvo''), abbr. ROSTA, was the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswir ...

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

(1918-35). After the creation of

Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

in 1925, it remained the news agency of Soviet Russia. Its name was associated with ''Rosta windows'' (russian: Окна Роста, ''Okna Rosta'').

Rosta windows

Rosta windows or satirical Rosta windows (russian: Окна сатиры Роста, ''Okna satiry Rosta'') were stencil-replicated propaganda posters created by artists and poets within the Rosta system, under the supervision of the Chief Committee of Political Education during 1919–21. Inheriting the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n design traditions of

lubok A ''lubok'' (plural ''lubki'', Cyrillic: russian: лубо́к, лубо́чная картинка) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories, and popular tales. Lubki ...

and rayok, the main topics were current political events. They were usually displayed in windows, hence the name. The first Rosta window was created in Moscow by Mikhail Cheremnykh (1890-1962). He was soon joined by

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

, a popular and prolific author,

Dmitry Moor D. Moor (russian: link=no, Д. Моор) was the professional name of Dmitry Stakhievich Orlov (russian: link=no, Дмитрий Стахиевич Орлов, 3 November 1883 in Novocherkassk; † 24 October 1946 in Moscow), a Russian artist n ...

(1883-1946), Amshey Nurenberg (1887-1979), Alexander Rodchenko, Mikhail Volpin and others. Similar projects were performed in other Soviet cities. Cheremnykh and Mayakovsky, for example, produced a poster in 1921 satirising a French delegation led by Joseph Noulens.V&A Images
/ref> The design featured graphical simplicity suitable for viewing from distance and often used

-styled sequences of pictures according to some plot, similar to modern comics. The posters were not printed but rather painted with cut-out stencils made from cardboard. Once the required number of posters was painted, the stencils were sent to another city and put in circulation throughout the Soviet Union. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, this approach was reproduced in Tass windows by

Kukryniksy The Kukryniksy (russian: Кукрыниксы) were three caricaturists/ cartoonists in the USSR with a recognizable style. "Kukryniksy" is a collective name, which is derived from the names of three caricaturists Mikhail Kupriyanov (Михаи� ...

External links

Rosta Windows - Vladimir Mayakovsky
(Russian)
Parodies of Rosta Windows in the 1990s
(Russian)

English)

Bibliography

* Ward, Alex (2008). ''Power to the People: Early Soviet Propaganda Posters in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem''. London, UK, Ashgate, {{art-org-stub News agencies based in Russia Soviet culture Mass media in the Soviet Union 1925 establishments in the Soviet Union

Rosta windows

See also

External links

Bibliography