Blog
Soviet Intourist Travel Posters - How the USSR Used Art & Propaganda to Drive Tourism
Intourist held a monopoly on tourism in the USSR. As the only tourism agency in the Soviet Union, Intourist was responsible for attracting and accommodating all tourists. Like every other industry or ideal in the USSR, Intourist used propaganda to advance its agenda. Posters targeted western audiences. They portrayed the Soviet Union as a glamorous and exotic land rather than a country of labourers and peasants.
The Definitive History of the Soviet Propaganda Poster
Art Factory: The Rise of Soviet Safety Posters in the Workplace
The OG of Photoshop: The Fabrication of Photographs in Stalin’s Soviet Surveillance State
The Trans-Siberian Railroad - The Railroad that Changed the World and Started a War
A Top 10 Guide to Georgia’s Best Soviet & Modern Architecture
Exploring Budapest’s Dystopian Underground Water Reservoir
Z is for Sorrow: How a Letter Became the Symbol for Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s Vulnerability can be Shown with a Map
The Enduring Legacy of the Lada
Abandoned Kyrgyzstan: Aalam-Ordo, the Centre of the Universe
Final Frontier: The Road of a Million Bones
Snaking through Russia’s wild and unforgiving Far East, small towns dot an otherwise barren and lunar landscape. A single road, the Kolyma Route, connects the furthermost outposts of the former Soviet empire. But, the road is also known by a more sinister name, the ‘Road of Bones’.
The Eagle has Landed: Hunting with the Last Eagle Hunters in Kyrgyzstan
What's in a Name? Comrade Kiev becomes Comrade Kyiv
Castles & Controversy: Inside Turkey's $200m Abandoned Town
The Land of Fire: The Do’s and Don'ts in Azerbaijan
60 Years in the Making: The Domestication of the Siberian Silver Fox
Soviet Sanatoriums: The Crumbling Remains of Tskaltubo, Georgia
A Top 10 Guide to Armenia’s Best Brutalist & Modernist Buildings
Knocking on Heaven's Door: Armenia's Abandoned Orgov Telescope
Armenia’s Modernist Masterpiece: Lake Sevan Writers Retreat
Bulldozer Exhibition: The Degenerate Art of the USSR
Memory Palace: Inside the Abandoned Shymkent Palace of Culture
By the late 1980s, there were more than 137,000 Palaces of Culture in the Soviet Union. After its collapse, palaces like the Shymkent Palace of Culture fell into disrepair without the financial backing for their upkeep. “Architecture, which is dependent on time and politics, declines and goes into ruins when it does not receive neither material nor spiritual investment.”
Samantha Smith: The 10 Year Old Girl Who Became an Icon for Peace
Soviet Status Symbols: The Unique Balconies of the USSR
In Conversation with a Soviet Propaganda Poster Artist: Vladimir Tverdokhlebov
Murder, Money and Michael J Fox: Ice Hockey in the Wild, Wild East
Celebrating 60 Years of Humans in Space with a New Tour
Announcing Sustainable, Ethical, Design-led Tours to the Former USSR
Photo Essay: Inside Tashkent's Space-aged Subway Station
Behind the Propaganda Poster: The Story of International Women's Day
Fonts & Freedom: Using Typography to Chart the Course of the USSR
The Fraternal Kiss - Behind the Famous Photo
Creativity vs Communism: The Polish School of Propaganda, CYRK and Art Posters
The Polish School of Posters was probably the most famous artistic collective operating under Soviet rule. They were prolific then, and they’re still popular today. The posters they produced were unlike anything seen before, and influenced most of what came after – but thanks to the isolationism of the USSR, their legacy is little known.
Missing Murals: The Legacy of Soviet Mosaics
Must Read Books on Soviet Art, Design and Culture
Welcome to Bulunkul, Central Asia's Coldest Town
Soviet Logos: The Lost Logos of a Socialist Utopia
How We're Building a Purpose Led Business
We’ve Integrated with Klarna to Make Art More Accessible
Photo Essay: Turkmenistan's Shining Marble City, Ashgabat
How the CIA Stole a Sunken Soviet Submarine from the Sea Floor
Photo Essay: The Unworldly Photos of Industrial Waste Landscapes in Russia
Behind the Poster: The Young Pioneers of the USSR
A Conversation about Conservation: How to Store, Frame and Protect your Artwork
A good quality frame will protect your artwork, preserving it for years to come. A skilled framer will guide you through the process, but here’s what you can look for. You can use glass or acrylic glazing in your frame, but it should offer at least 99% UV protection.
Behind the Propaganda Poster: Political Games at the Soviet Olympic Games
How We’re Building a Carbon Neutral Business
Photo Essay: An Empty and Endless Kazakhstan
Cyrk: The Posters that Take us Inside the Soviet Circus
Behind the Poster: Propagandising the Healthy in the USSR
The Ethics Behind Art: Our Commitment to Freedom and Equality
The X-ray Records of the USSR
Behind the Propaganda Poster: Environmental Policy in the USSR
Photo Essay: Finding Beauty in Chernobyl’s Decay
Cosmonauts and Communism: Soviet Space Propaganda Posters During the Cold War
My Journey from Fintech to Fine Art
Before studying business, I studied art. For the last 8 years, I’ve put art to one side in the pursuit of financial stability. It wasn’t something I had growing up, but I knew I wanted to return my focus to art once I had it. My return to art began in 2018. It started with a single poster from a flea market.