Agitprop

The term Agitprop comes from the Russian agitatsiya-propaganda (agitation and propaganda), used by Vladimir Lenin to describe the Communist Party's strategy towards final victory: agitation was meant to rouse the masses, while propaganda, a word with no negative connotation at the time, meant the work of discussion and persuasion aimed at the intelligentsia.

After 1917 the party set up a special office for agitation and propaganda, which many artists and designers worked with, including the painter Kazimir Malevich.

There were also designs for propaganda buildings and monuments, meant to attract and mobilise the masses: the most famous is Vladimir Tatlin's Monument to the Third International (1919-1920).

The model of the Monument to the Third International.