The year 2021 is declared the Year of Space at VDNKh, numerous thematic events will be dedicated to the anniversaries of major space achievements throughout the year.
This year is a jubilee year for astronauts - the 50th anniversary of the launch of Salyut into orbit, the world's first manned space station, and the 60th anniversary of the flight of the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Throughout the year lectures, exhibitions and events will be held at VDNKh. The first events were held online in January.
On February 19 the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center in the Cosmos Pavilion will host the exposition "First in the World". It is the biggest event of the year of space at VDNKh. About a hundred posters dating back to 1850-1960s were selected from the holdings of the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics.
All posters are dedicated to one theme - the conquest of space. They were drawn by famous Soviet poster artists, including Irakli Toidze and Valentin Viktorov. The exhibition was divided into three sections.
The first of these is entitled "The road is open to man!" Here visitors can see a selection of posters featuring pilots-cosmonauts, as well as posters dedicated to the launch of the first artificial satellite.
The second section is entitled "Let there be peace!" It contains posters showing the impact of space flights on the lives of people in the Soviet Union - their desire to emulate the cosmonaut heroes in education and work. This section also includes posters dedicated to traditional calendar holidays, but which invariably have symbols of space.
The third section presents the brightest examples of propaganda Soviet posters and is entitled "Sons of October - Pioneers of the Universe!
"The exhibition “First in the World” will be of interest not only to guests wishing to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the era of grandiose space victories and universal pride for the country, but also to those who want to study the Soviet poster as a popular genre of fine art in the mid-20th century," said pilot-cosmonaut and Hero of Russia Fedor Yurchikhin, president of the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center at VDNKh. The press service of the mayor of Moscow quoted him as saying.
Posters in the USSR are not just propaganda, they are a separate and unique milestone in the history and culture of the country. It should be reminded that propaganda posters were widespread in our country from 1918 to the early 1990s.
Photo: Official website of the Mayor of Moscow