JAVS Spring 2026

Figure 9. A 1946 poster for the First of May (Communist Labor Day) created by A. Golub’ and A. Chernov. “Look: singing and dancing/All the Soviet country/You won’t find any brighter or colorful/Than our red spring.”

Figure 11. A 1937 poster from Ukrainian SSR. “Thanks to the Party, thanks to dear Stalin for a happy, joyful childhood.” Notice the potential hidden anti-Stalinist messages: the young violinist’s frightened facial expression, the overly tensed bow (a symbol of fear), and how Stalin covers the ears of the younger child holding an airplane (preventing the kid from unnecessary exposure to art).

Figure 10. V. I. Lenin on a Promenade with Children by Aleksandr Deyneka, 1938. Lenin seats at the very back of the car, it should be noted that in 1938 he was dead for 14 years.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, No. 1, Spring 2026

45