USSR Soviet Union Anti-capitalism 1948 Poster

Translate: Under capitalism ... Under socialism ... Soviet leaders dreamt about the Earth being Soviet. The battle with the capitalist West was on-going, the West was always presented as the enemy – decadent, unjust world where the majority of people suffered at the expense of the small bunch of the rich. At different times the West was represented by different nationalities. During the Second World War the Nazis were the ultimate symbol of capitalism. Once the war was over, the government rushed to create the new enemy – American imperialists. On the back of strong patriotic feelings of millions of Soviet people the government started “Anti-Cosmopolitan Campaign” straight after the war. The enemy was needed more than ever to strengthen the idea of the communist paradise at home. The soldiers and those living in occupied territories were able to witness the capitalist way of life and how different it was from what the party was telling them. The new campaign was instilled by the government at all levels during 1948-1953. Anyone could be suspected to be a “cosmopolitan” i.e. anti-Soviet, pro-capitalist. The so-called “courts of honour” were formed almost in every government organisation. They were meant to monitor anti-patriotic, anti-Soviet, anti-social behaviour of the government employees and many got a criminal sentence for this offence. The US remained the enemy until the dissolution of USSR and over the years this rivalry was exacerbated by the Cold War.