Boris Aleksandrovich Alexandrov (1905-1994) was a Soviet-era composer, artist, and Major-General in the Soviet military. During the second world war, Aleksandrovich broadcasted Russian folk songs to soldiers on the frontlines, and in a similar way, provided patriotic media in the form of propaganda posters part of a larger art movement called “Socialist Realism”, an art style typically used for the purposes of propaganda and spreading patriotism, prevalent in the Soviet Union and other communist or socialist countries in the mid to late 20th century.

Socialist Realism was especially employed in WWII for these purposes, a period where propaganda art was nearly universally seen across every major nation regardless of their position in the war, intended to bolster the industrial workforce as well as the fighting forces of all countries. The Soviet Union in particular enjoyed this boom of propaganda art, and Socialist Realism can be seen all the way up until the collapse of the USSR. Its style is best defined as bold, idealistic, and simple to digest, often being very literal and hiding shallow deeper meaning. In this sense, they were a highly efficient utilization of graphic design to spread messages to the masses, ensuring their call to action could be easily understood while still representing the ideals of the USSR and attempting to inspire its people.

In 1958, Aleksandrovich was granted the title of “People’s Artist of the USSR” to commemorate both his visual and performing arts.

More information on Aleksandrovich is available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Alexandrovich_Alexandrov