IMAGES OF CHILDHOOD ON THE SOVIET POSTER IN THE PERIOD OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR (1941-1945)

Abstract

Aim. To identify the distinctive features of the representation of children’s images on Soviet propaganda posters created in the period of the Great Patriotic War. Methodology. A comprehensive analysis of sources on the history of Soviet propaganda between 1941 and 1945 was performed. The research was supported by the results of studies on the relevant subject presented in Russian scientists’ works. Ideographic, historical-genetic, and typological methods were used in this scientific investigation. In addition, the method of frequency analysis was employed with the caveat that virtual images but not linguistic structures act as the original units of meaning. Results. Images of childhood ranked high in the unified narrative of Soviet visual propaganda throughout the Great Patriotic War. Children’s social roles and their status in Soviet society underwent major changes. Images of children were a powerful means of consolidating Soviet society for the sake of the future; they motivated people on the home front and on the frontline to withstand tremendous strain. The sacralization of childhood and the perception of all children as society’s common heritage and at the same time active participants in the struggle for the future of the country allow us to postulate the dual nature of Soviet society. Its traditional essence combined with external forms of modernity preserved Russia’s status as a subject of history. Research implications. The summarised data and the obtained results can be used as a basis for further research in the field of the history of the social communications of the Soviet period. In addition, they can promote patriotic education of Russian school and university students.