21

Soviet workers bid farewell to the greatest poet of the Bolshevik Revolution, through whom they discovered that art can and must always be at the service of the people.

"The streets are our paintbrushes; the squares our palettes. We must build, not only by imagining the new, but also by dynamiting the old."

Mayakovsky carried his art and Bolshevik propaganda to the most remote corners of the Soviet Union, designing what were known as "agitation trains."

These trains were repurposed by the USSR to bring culture to the most isolated rural areas of Russia, those with the highest rates of illiteracy. The train cars designed by Mayakovsky were equipped with libraries, photography studios, cafes, and cinemas, where films were shown free of charge to the people, introducing thousands upon thousands of peasants to cinema for the first time.

In their first year, 430 films were shown on these trains, and many illiterate people were astonished, experiencing the seventh art for the first time—something they believed to be "magic."

Source -> https://xcancel.com/DaniMayakovski/status/2045134678198305226#m

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago

I would say easy, Edgar Allen Poe is very well known, but barely anyone even knows he is famous for poetry lol.

this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
21 points (100.0% liked)

History

531 readers
48 users here now

This is the general history subcom. Anything relating to history is welcome here. Doesn't have to be Marxist, though it certainly can be. So join in on the discussion and let's learn more.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS