![]() ![]() It was promoted as a modern technological medium and was widely used to propagandize the successes of Soviet science, notably the space programme. In the early 1960s then, the cult of scientific and technological progress and modernization – elements so evident in the Khrushchevian era – created a favourable climate for a rebirth of photography. Over the years, posters, paintings and photography had played a major role in Soviet propaganda, and the 1920s in particular is often regarded as the golden age of Soviet political art and photography. Visual propaganda had been a significant determinant of Soviet utopian thinking and the country's concepts of the future ever since the birth of the nation. The role of photography in this process was prominent. The enthusiasm with regard to cosmic space was promoted and skilfully taken advantage of by the propaganda machine of the party state. Beautiful, smiling people such as Yuri Gagarin were the children of the new era, the age of Space. ![]() The utopian world was the world of the future. The contradiction between these illustrations and people's everyday lives was obvious: it was as if two parallel worlds existed simultaneously. This utopianism surrounded people through visual representations, and everyday problems did not appear to exist in such a world. It heralded the construction of communism, and the central argument of the programme was that communism would be achieved by the year 1980, so that ‘this generation will live under it’ ( Programma KPSS, 1961: 142 and passim. The new programme of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which had evolved during 1958–1961, laid the foundation for the official Khrushchevian utopia. Secondly, the year 1961 was the year when cosmic utopianism reached its zenith in the Soviet Union. First, the year 1961 was the year when the space race culminated with the Soviet Union achieving the greatest victory of all: it triumphed over the United States by sending the first human into space. ![]() I have chosen the beginning of the 1960s, and in particular the year 1961, for my ‘close reading’ of the visual propaganda for two reasons. ![]() This was remarkable, bearing in mind the generally hostile relations between the countries of NATO and the Warsaw Pact (signed only two years before the opening of the IGY) ( Bulkeley, 2000: 125–152 Wilson, 1961: 72). And, indeed, in the depth of the Cold War there actually was some degree of useful scientific interaction and exchange. Almost all the members of the two rival alliances contributed to the year's events, in spite of the fact that many of the scientific subjects of study had a considerable military and scientific significance. The IGY agreements guaranteed the free exchange of information acquired through scientific observation, including that obtained by artificial satellites. It united scientists globally: sixty-seven national scientific teams with diverse cultural, political and economic backgrounds participated in different ways. The IGY was an ambitious international undertaking, comprising a network of planet-wide geophysical studies that was initiated in 1952 and implemented in 1957– 1958. The programmes that resulted in the launching of the first artificial earth satellites were run by the Soviet Union and the United States within the overall framework of the International Geophysical Year. All subjects Allied Health Cardiology & Cardiovascular Medicine Dentistry Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Endocrinology & Metabolism Environmental Science General Medicine Geriatrics Infectious Diseases Medico-legal Neurology Nursing Nutrition Obstetrics & Gynecology Oncology Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Otolaryngology Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care Pediatrics Pharmacology & Toxicology Psychiatry & Psychology Public Health Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine Radiology Research Methods & Evaluation Rheumatology Surgery Tropical Medicine Veterinary Medicine Cell Biology Clinical Biochemistry Environmental Science Life Sciences Neuroscience Pharmacology & Toxicology Biomedical Engineering Engineering & Computing Environmental Engineering Materials Science Anthropology & Archaeology Communication & Media Studies Criminology & Criminal Justice Cultural Studies Economics & Development Education Environmental Studies Ethnic Studies Family Studies Gender Studies Geography Gerontology & Aging Group Studies History Information Science Interpersonal Violence Language & Linguistics Law Management & Organization Studies Marketing & Hospitality Music Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution Philosophy Politics & International Relations Psychoanalysis Psychology & Counseling Public Administration Regional Studies Religion Research Methods & Evaluation Science & Society Studies Social Work & Social Policy Sociology Special Education Urban Studies & Planning BROWSE JOURNALS ![]()
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