A Collection of War Posters from the Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), 1943-1945

This collection comprises two series, one being a group of 129 stencilled posters from the TASS Windows and the second consisting of 37 printed posters. They cover the period June 1943 to May 1945.

The TASS posters represent an incomplete run from TASS no. 641 to no. 1300, spanning the period June 1943 to June 1945. The distinctive character of this phase in the war effort was evident in the poster art of the time, reflecting the expectation - following the capitulation of the German army at Stalingrad in February 1943 and other reverses - that the Germans would be defeated.

Liberation, reconstruction and the forthcoming tasks of peacetime were major issues of this period, and expressed in the posters through the following themes: the inevitable defeat of Germany; the progress of the Soviet army's victories; allied solidarity; Nazi atrocities; the liberation of nations; the heroic Soviet people; the neutrals' collaboration with Germany.

The printed posters (MS 281/2) record only a small selection of Soviet production during the war, but are significant for their inclusion of examples of the late work of Viktor Deny, as well as younger distinguished poster artists such as Irakly Toidze, Viktor Ivanov and Boris Koretsky. They relate to the same phase of the war as the TASS Windows, running from March 1943 to February 1945.

Following the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, the organisational committee of the Union of Soviet Artists established the TASS Window collective to produce propaganda poster to aid the Soviet war effort. In this they followed the example set by artists of the ROSTA Windows posters (so called because they often appeared in the empty shop windows of the day) of the Civil War period, 1918-21.

TASS (Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union), like ROSTA before it, was the official Soviet telegraphic agency. It became associated with the Soviet propaganda effort as it was able to able to provide poster artists with the latest news from the Front, allowing them to respond, often within hours, to major events.

The TASS Windows were both satirical and heroic, the theme being agreed with the leader of the collective. They were large, stencilled, brightly coloured, and hand painted, and by 1943 were produced in runs of up to 1000, or in even greater numbers when the content was considered to be particularly important to publicise. Often they were accompanied by a didactic text or lengthy poem.

New posters appeared almost daily, becoming something of a chronicle of the war. They referred to general issues as well as incidents of the immediate moment as they arose in the press. The physical display of the posters meant that inevitably the majority did not survive, although they were widely distributed to the front, to army units, factories and collective farms.

About 129 artists from various backgrounds contributed to the TASS Windows, including painters such as P.P.Sokolov-Skalya, A.P Bubnov, P.M. Shukhmin, M.V. Mal'tsev and F.V. Antonov. Similarly, more than 70 poets and writers contributed to the texts, in short and witty verses and slogans. Over 1500 different designs were produced in this series up to August 1945.

Posters are divided into TASS Windows and printed posters and within these categories arranged primarily in chronological order. The TASS Windows bear original poster numbers.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers. Please note that most of the posters are very large and difficult to handle. This, and their fragility, means that researchers are be expected to use the published microfilm copies in the first instance.

LANGUAGE: Russian

NOTE: Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

• In the Reading Room, University of Nottingham Library: Printed Catalogue to item level, 101 pp
• At the National Register of Archives, London: Printed Catalogue, 101 pp

REPROGRAPHIC: Photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the originals.

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The collection was given to the Library of the University of Nottingham in 1961.

• The posters have been published in microform with an accompanying book providing the full catalogue and an introductory essay: 'Soviet War Posters c. 1940-1945. The TASS Poster Series from the , University of Nottingham' (Adam Matthew Publications, 1992).