#iraklii toidze

[apenitentialprayer]

Under the Banner of Lenin, Under the Leadership of Stalin, Forward to the Victory of Communism!, by Iraklii Toidze, 1949.

The godlike worship of Communist elites appears the most ironic twist of Soviet communism. The writings of Lenin were treated as sacred text from a prophet and became the final justification of any act. Lenin's embalming further played on the Russian Orthodox belief that the bodies of saints decompose at a slower rate. Placing Lenin under glass in a state of suspended animation directly replicated the display of the bodies of saints in monasteries throughout Russia. In turn, Soviet officials violently opposed the display of saints and argued that their bodies were actually frauds made of wax; to prove their point, Soviets exhumed the bodies of saints and performed tests to determine their true consistency. Meanwhile, the waxy corpse of Lenin served as a "genuine" replacement. When Yugoslavian Vice-President Milovan Djilas visited Lenin's tomb in the 1940s, he observed the following: "as we descended into the Mausoleum, I saw how simple women in shawls were crossing themselves as though approaching the reliquary of a saint." Stalin also promoted himself as the "Father" of his people, applying the full force of the Soviet media to repeating the message that he alone could protect Soviet citizens from the evils of the world. During his reign, citizens were consistently admonished to "Be Like Stalin!" and for a time after Stalin's death it was suggested that he be made an "eternal member" of numerous Soviet organizations. In this way, Soviets elevated political figures to transcendental status unbecoming of the initial rhetoric of historical materialism.

Paul Froese ("Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed")

[antifataylorswift]

what is your profile pic from. like the original photo of taylor? evermore photoshoot or?

Lenin Rallying the People by Irakliy Toidze. Also a Red TV photoshoot

[radioactivebottomfeeder]

“In the Name of Peace”, Iraklii Toidze, 1959

[museu-degrandes-novidades]

Greetings for [International Women’s Day] the 8th of March (1964)

Iraklii Moiseevich Toidze

[hlresearch-csm]

Iraklii Toidze, In the Name of Peace, 1959, Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

Konstantin Ivanov, The road is open for humans, 1960, Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

“But, as Natalia Sidlina, one of the curators of the Science Museum's new exhibition, explains, Communist leaders also wanted Russians to celebrate the advances the country was making. "How do you go about creating propaganda for an industry which is so heavily classified?" she says. Posters were the answer.” 

“"Dogs - and then cosmonauts - were the equivalent of Hollywood stars in the Soviet Union," explains Sidlina.” -BBC