As we recognize the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR it is worth remembering
the rich history of Soviet art that came from that period: the colorful and radical posters of
Glasnost. Confronted with a failing economy and the twilight of the Communist mode of
governance General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev rolled back many of the core tenets of the
Soviet Union. In this era of Perestroika (Restructuring) the Soviet Union opened itself to
foreign investment inaugurated a process of decentralization promised transparency and
accepted previously prohibited critiques of the government. The second development Glasnost
(Openness) brought with it artistic alternatives to the state-endorsed Social Realism with
posters becoming vehicles for confronting the history of the USSR from the vantage of its
impending dissolution. As a result Glasnost became a movement that began a new chapter in the
visual culture of Russia that preserved the fiery polemics of resistance and socialist
ideology. The book will feature approx. 212 reproductions of posters from the Martha H. and J.
Speed Carroll Collection and will comprise insightful essays from Russian history scholar Andy
Willimott and art historian Pepe Karmel with an introduction from J. Speed Carroll.
Additionally three interviews with Russian artists who produced some of the posters during
this time conducted by Russian translator Bela Shayevich will be included.
