Sport POSTERS of Soviet Moscow
In Tsarist Russia, sport was considered a privilege of noble and wealthy people, so it did not require advertising. However, after the revolution, physical culture became a mass thing. We’ve put together a collection of posters that were used to promote sports in the USSR.
A new book by Ksenia Lapina and Natalia Afanasyeva titled ‘Moscow in Poster, Poster in Moscow’ (Bombora publishing house) presents more than 150 works from the collection of the Museum of Moscow. Let's take a closer look at some of them…
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Sports were an important and effective element of Soviet propaganda. After all, the new state needed physically strong people, who would build communism and factories. The poster below reads: “Long live Soviet physical trainers!”
At first, mass sports parades were held right on the Red Square and, soon, several large stadiums were built, where young people were actively encouraged to go. “Youth – to the stadiums!” says the poster below.
In 1928, Moscow hosted a mass event, the First All-Union Spartakiada. More than 7,000 athletes took part in it, not only from the USSR, but also from 17 other countries.
“To you, Motherland, our records!” Keeping in good physical shape became a part of patriotic education.
The Soviet government conducted a set of physical culture activities called ‘Ready for Labor and Defense’ («Готов к труду и обороне», 'Gotov k Trudu i Oborone', or ‘GTO’ for short). Young people passed tests for GTO standards en masse (the poster below calls for this). GTO played an important role during the training of Soviet soldiers on the fronts of World War II.
The Soviet Union, which at first was not allowed to participate in the Olympics and then boycotted this “capitalist” competition itself, nevertheless invented its own analog of the international sports competition for the countries of the socialist bloc. The so-called ‘International Friendly Sports Games’.
Ice skating was one of the most popular winter activities in the USSR. And there were loads of ice skating rinks in the country, so spending leisure time there was actively advertised.
Cross-country skis were also very popular. They were part of the mandatory school physical education program.
Swimming was also advertised. This 1947 poster below promoted going swimming in a poetic form:
“Swing harder! Bravely contending
with the wind and the wave,
toughen yourself in open spaces,
young tribe!”
The most important event in Soviet sport history, however, was the 1980 Summer Olympic Games held in Moscow. They were massively popularized and souvenirs with the Olympic mascot, a brown teddy bear, appeared in almost every family.
An important slogan of the Olympics was: “Sport, Peace, Friendship”.
Many sports facilities, hotels for athletes and even new subway stations were built ahead of the Olympics. So, Moscow was advertised to foreigners as the city of the future.
