A poet first and foremost, Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930) wrote and illustrated one of the primers put out by the Commissariat of the Enlightenment during the Russian civil war. This primer was intended to "educate" the peasants in the tenets of social revolution as conceived by the Bolsheviks, who were still struggling to secure control of the country.
What Orlando Figes called a "brilliant piece of popular satire" made use of the offbeat couplets characertistic of the peasant chastushka, or rhyming song. It also tapped directly into the new "manliness" with which the Bolsheviks hoped to invest their popular image. You can see from the abecadarius below a strong appeal made to young, demobilized peasants who would be shamed by flowers and all things effeminate.
B
The Bolsheviks hunt the burzhoois
The burzoois run a mile
K
It's hard for the cows (korovy) to run fast
Kerensky was Prime Minister
M
The Mensheviks are people
who run off to their mothers
T
Flowers (tsvety) smell sweet in the evening
Tsar Nicolas loved them very much
When he wasn't propagandizing the revolution, Mayakovsky kept his hands full with a notable love affair and his participation in developing avant-garde art movements.
Alexander Rodchenko elaborated upon the the photo montage technique, which was pioneered by Italian Futurists and popularized by the Dada movement. To illustrate About It, a poem written by his friend Vladimir Mayakovsky, he created a series of composite pictures, combining magazine clippings with the photographs of Mayakovsky and his lover, Lily Brik. (HT to Dieselpunks for the image and idetails.)
A few screenshots from a book which provides interesting details about Lily and Vlady.
