Soviet HIV Awareness
This is an original Soviet poster from 1988 warning of the risk of HIV. This was desiged by a group called the 'Fighting Pencil' and only 20,000 copies were produced for circulation.
The poster is in good condition considering its age, though there is some damages around the edges.
The poster is 33 x 44 cm (approx 13 x 17 inches, or c.A2) in size.
The Soviet Union initially denied that any HIV infections were occurring within its territory. Doctors were pressured to misdiagnose cases of HIV and AIDS as other ailments, and the government failed to take any steps to protect or warn the public about the nature of the disease and how to prevent its spread.
A group of artists known as ‘The Fighting Pencil’. Their names are under the group’s logo – a pencil and palette merged to resemble a gun – which is on this poster. The group began in an army unit fighting against Finland in 1939. They continued to make posters throughout the 20th century, during the World War II (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War) and later attacked the vices of the Soviet state such as needless bureaucracy and corruption.
