A Collection of Soviet-ERA POSTERS ON HYGIENE AND DISEASE PREVENTION
During these hard days of pandemic chaos and hypochondriac panic it is import to keep calm and thoroughly follow the advices of the scientific community. The science-loving godless Soviets, as it is often (or rather always) the case, were at the forefront of the battle to increase public knowledge and awareness about the importance of personal hygiene as effective instrument to counter the spread of diseases, infections and parasites.
In 1918 the People’s Commissariat of Public Health began a quest to protect the health of all Soviet citizens, but health became more than a political platform or a tactical decision. The Soviets defined and categorized the world by interpreting political orthodoxy and citizenship in terms of hygiene. The assumed political, social, and cultural benefits of a regulated, healthy lifestyle informed the construction of Soviet institutions and identity. Cleanliness developed into a political statement that extended from domestic maintenance to leisure choices and revealed gender, ethnic, and class prejudices. Dirt denoted the past and poor politics; health and cleanliness signified mental acuity, political orthodoxy, and modernity.
Thirty years after its dissolution, the Soviet Union can still teach us something in many a field, hygiene and disease prevention being just one of them. Along these lines, we are glad to present you with a small selection of our favorite Soviet-era posters on the hot topic of the moment.
In case you wish to learn more about this topic, we recommend to read “The Body Soviet: Propaganda, Hygiene, and the Revolutionary State” by Tricia Starks (ISBN 978-0-299-22964-1), the first sustained investigation of the Bolshevik government’s early policies on hygiene and health care in general.
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