Back in 50s, a lot of western caricaturists revealed the Soviet reality and communism in their works. They were definitely set against this country, which reflected in their caricatures. Artist Herluf Bidstrup from Denmark, after visiting the USSR and seeing it with his own eyes, decided to change this impression and that’s what he’s done:
via e-super
I didn’t “get” most of them. The little girl making the man pick up the cigarette butt and the little boy dragged to a party and then has to be dragged away seem simple enough, but what point are they trying make.
That life in the USSR was a lot like life in the US.
The point is simply enough, to counter western stereo types that the Soviets were anything other then a civilized, hard working, technologically sophisticated society, and that they enjoyed their daily lives just like in the west.
By comparison look at the more macabre ones (1rst pic after “Advertisement:”) depicting western caricatures, propaganda, of what life in the Soviet Union was like.
That’s not a party. That’s a kindergarten.
USSR, also ‘man-living’ society.
The point is that life in the communist block was not all so different from life as today. Sure there were gulags and bread lines and banned books and not many cars or meats or consumer electronics, but they still had social gatherings, dances, celebrations, schools, parks, sports, theatre, beaches, all the other things we had in the West.
The selection was very strange. Most of these seem to be just daily scenes as Bidstrup saw them. I grew up with a couple of his books. While he is undoubtedly a great cartoonist, looking back over some of the books, they are pretty much Soviet anti-Western propaganda. Scenes of an evil looking Uncle Sam and some fact-cat stomping on ‘workers’, Uncle Sam oppressing the people, etc. Same as how the USSR was always the bad guy in Cold War comics, Bidstrup’s stuff always made the West look unrealistically evil. I had no idea he was Danish. That’s the surprise here. I always thought he was from some friendly Soviet Bloc country.
Last one is the best – it is Christmas, they have bananas in grocery store
Nice attempt by the Danish artist to portray everyday life like it really is, but westerners were rarely ever allowed to travel unrestricted within the Soviet Union. So what they saw was always to a degree what their minders wanted them to see, or not see as is the case. This is just countering one kind of propaganda with another.
There were more allowed in than most people realize. Finns could go to Russia and many did, to go drinking. (Alcohol has always been very expensive in Finland, maybe 10x what Russia pays.) Finland was a free country, given independence from Russia in 1917, and the only country that fended off Russia’s attempts to take over during WW2 — but after the war, Finland was friendly with the East and the West. Yeah, there were all these people who would travel to Leningrad to drink, although that was before my time, so I have no firsthand info.
I agree with you most of them do not make much sense.You need to see what the propaganda that he is countering showed to make better sense of these.
Wow images reminds me the corruption and lack of sense in Pakistan, I’m just amazed if you live in Pakistan 100% images remind you the life of Pakistan.
But yet excellent coverage as always!
Haaron, you cannot imagine degree of the corruption and lack of sense herein USA and the western world in general! The worst of all is Pakistan and other developing countries unfortunately are ruled by sold local people selected via these crooks originated from abroad.
All we need are revolutionists to change the world to a peaceful place!
Yes, Pakistanis are just puppets of the corrupt west, in no way responsible for their own actions! /sarcasm
This cartoon author was Danish artist and communist Herluf Bidstrup. Soviet authorities used him as stead fool.