"Motherland Calls" - a poster calling for a fight against the invaders

Agitation and propaganda played an important role for Soviet society. They allowed the state to own the minds of people, to influence their minds. And these phenomena were expressed in numerous posters devoted to different aspects of people's lives. Many of them got a lot of fame. In particular, "Motherland is Calling". The poster appeared as a reaction to the beginning of the most destructive and brutal war for our country.

Agitation as a means of influencing public consciousness

As already mentioned, the posters were a visual means of transferring impulses from power to the masses. Why posters? The thing is that the visual image, especially accompanied by test inscriptions, had a direct and necessary effect on a person. The lack of television turned these visual aids into a powerful tool for ideological processing of people. All of them were thematic and pointedly influenced the necessary spheres of life. One of such bright and impressive phenomena was the poster "Motherland Calls." Photos of this appeal can be seen now on the Internet, as well as in museums, where copies of the poster and the original are kept. It reflects one of the most important events in the country of the Soviets, and perhaps most importantly. This was the implacable resistance of all the people of a large country to the vile invaders from Germany and the countries that support it. It appeared at the first crashes of cannon and bursts of bombs on the territory of the USSR, in July it was already published in millions of copies and was located at the points of gathering of servicemen, in places of mass congestion. "Motherland Calls" - a poster, comparable in its degree of influence to another cult work of the Great Patriotic War period - the song "The Sacred War"

The artist's intention

The history of the appearance of this work of the Soviet agitprop is very interesting. The author of the poster "Motherland Calls" is Irakli Toidze, a well-known Soviet artist of Georgian descent, on the day of Germany's attack on the USSR, he worked in his studio when his wife was disturbed by his wife bursting into a desperate expression . With sincere bitterness and alarm she told her husband about the beginning of the war. Irakly Moiseyevich as a real artist noticed in the person of his wife genuine sorrow, suffering and decided, not hesitant, to capture this moment. Tamara's wife at first did not understand that her husband asked her to freeze in such a position to write this view, as the concentrated fear and emotions of all mothers of the country for the fate of their children. So the artist caught the concept of his creation and embodied in the form of an appeal "Motherland Calls." The poster immediately received such a name, and from small to large it was clear what this woman calls with a piercing look and emotional gestures.

"Soldier's icon"

The idea and the sketch itself were very popular with the country's leadership. They perfectly understood the need to inspire the people, to give it unity in the face of such a threat. The considerable authority of Irakli Toidze played a role among the party elite. He was a recognized master, as evidenced by numerous state awards. The author thought for a long time what to put in the hand of a woman, and decided that the upturned hand would symbolize the very call. In her right hand, a woman holds the words of a military oath, thereby emphasizing that people have sworn an oath not to the state, namely the Motherland, which is simply impossible to betray. Hundreds of bayonets behind the figure of the mother personified millions of defenders of the Motherland, ready to stand up for her defense at her first call. On June 27, the poster was completed and he entered the printing house. He immediately sold several million copies. But he was constantly being printed during all the wars. Soldiers died in battle and pronounced like the spell "Motherland Calls." The poster was a kind of symbol of the whole era of the terrible forties.

Unforgettable Stalingrad

Volgograd is a city that during the war has experienced, perhaps, the most tragic moments of its entire history. It was here that many months of bloody battles between German and Soviet troops took place. To perpetuate the memory of all defenders of the city, at the end of the war, it was decided to build a monument in the city that would resemble new generations of people about the terrible events of that war. Throughout the Soviet Union was announced a competition for the creation of a monument. The selection committee received hundreds of thousands of drawings, but all of them were rejected for one reason or another. The commission could not decide on the basic concept of sculpture. And then a sketch of the famous Soviet artist-sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich appeared. The idea really pleased the government, and it was given the go-ahead for the start of the construction of the monument. Specially for the project on the Mamayev Hill was made a mound height with a five-story house. Inside were the burials of the defenders of the city.

Symbol of struggle against fascism

The second stage was the making of the statue itself. Evgeni Viktorovich did not like the Moscow model. Therefore, for several months the work was at last found in Volgograd a woman who liked the architect. From it, and was made a sculpture. The name of this woman - Valentina Izotova - has always gone down in history. For many years there was a lot of work. And then came the year 1967. Residents of the city could see this wonderful creation. Behind him, as well as behind the famous Toidze poster, the name "Motherland Calls" was fixed. The statue is located at the highest point of the city, its height is 85 meters. Twice since the opening, it has been restored. It produces a terrific impression of the bitterness of loss, but at the same time the triumph over the defeated enemy, and the sword, as it were, speaks of the inevitability of punishing all the enemies of our homeland.