When the Communists seized control of Russia in late 1917, they found themselves in a difficult position. According to Marxist theory, the revolution should have happened hundreds of miles further west in one of the more industrialized countries, such as Britain or Germany, with a working class that was much more developed and educated.
The new rulers of Russia found themselves at the head of a sprawling state that had previously controlled its enormous, largely illiterate population with rituals, symbols and customs that were tied to the old regime. New ways of communicating the new order to the peasant masses had to be quickly devised for both the cities and the countryside.
One of the most effective methods turned out to be the poster, which led to graphic design going through its own revolution, creating potent imagery that still resonates today.