Economisons et grandissons ! 1972

A luminous artifact of Soviet visual propaganda, this 1972 poster by the legendary Viktor Koretsky embodies the powerful optimism and ideological clarity of late-stage socialist realism. Titled “Сохраним и вырастим!” — “Let’s Preserve and Raise!” — the poster was part of a campaign promoting agricultural productivity and humane animal husbandry during the Brezhnev-era push for rural modernization.

Rendered in Koretsky’s unmistakable photomontage style, the composition presents a radiant, smiling woman — a collective farm worker or veterinary technician — bottle-feeding a calf. Her expression, almost saintly in its warmth, becomes a symbol of maternal care projected onto the state’s vision of stewardship over the land and its creatures. The background, suffused with an almost neon green pasture and meticulously ordered barns, represents the ideological fantasy of agricultural abundance.

Unlike many Western posters of the era, there’s no irony, no subtext — just a straightforward visual message of hope, labor, and socialist futurism.

Koretsky, known for his emotionally charged and technically sophisticated agitprop throughout the 1940s–1970s, often blended photographic realism with bold color blocking and sharp contrast. In this poster, he juxtaposes monochrome human and animal figures against an electrifying green and deep forest backdrop — elevating an everyday scene to the level of national moral duty. The composition becomes both intimate and monumental.

The bold red Cyrillic text at the bottom shouts: СОХРАНИМ И ВЫРАСТИМ! — a call not only to nourish livestock, but to protect the productivity, health, and collective success of the Soviet people themselves.

This poster reminds us that propaganda wasn't always about military might or political leaders. Sometimes, it was about a woman, a calf, and a bottle of milk — icons of peace, labor, and a carefully cultivated utopia.

Today, it resonates as a visual time capsule of a society that sought to depict harmony between people and progress, between state and soil.

USSR - Agriculture - Propaganda - Russia

Good condition, slight creases, small tears