By: Emily Chu
After the October Revolution of 1917, the Soviet Union began using porcelain to spread propaganda. Most porcelain products at that time were produced in the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory (IPM) in Petrograd, which is now called St. Petersburg.
The October Revolution, also known as the Russian Revolution, was a time of political chaos. The Bolsheviks, under Vladimir Lenin, took control of the government and became the major political power in Russia.
Anatoly Lunacharsky, the arts correspondent for a Russian magazine before World War I, saw porcelain as the perfect way to spread the Soviets’ propaganda in Russia. He was a member of the Bolsheviks and had connections with Lenin.
Undecorated porcelain in the factory was used as the way to spread propaganda for the revolution, and as a way for artists to paint about the socialistic views spreading throughout the Soviet Union.
After the revolution, the Bolsheviks took over the IPM and renamed it the State Porcelain Factory. The IPM ciphers were wiped out and covered with the hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union. “Agitation porcelain” was the name for this china. They were mostly painted by a group of artists under Sergei Chekhonin, a graphic artist. They bore statements about the “new Soviet Union” and often depicted portraits of Lenin.
In the 1930s, porcelain depicted the new government that had arisen, as well as technological and architectural advancements, like hydroelectric power. The porcelain also depicted the portraits of political figures, such as Josef Stalin.
”Everything really changes in the beginning of the ’30s when artists themselves come under real pressure because there is no independent artistry any more. If you are not part of a union, you can be seen as a parasite and be sent to a camp,” says Dr. Sjeng Scheijen, a Russian art historian. “When you go to the depositories of museums for the late 30s, it’s really depressing.”
The porcelain propaganda was ineffective at the end. It was costly and not many average citizens could afford it. Today, the Soviet propaganda porcelain is stored in museums or by private collectors, including the British Museum in London.
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