> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Vintage “Soviet Santa” Postcards Were Propaganda for the Space Race - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/vintage-soviet-santa-postcards-were-propaganda-for-the-space-race/ - Published: 2018-12-24T17:00:45.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T15:44:31.000Z - Description: Vintage Soviet postcards reveal a sophisticated political project, one that uses the allure of nostalgia to create a vision of a utopian, space-age future. - Author: Amelia Soth - Tags: Art, Photo Essays, postcards, propaganda, Soviet Union, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-18 14:37 (2018) ![Ded Moroz on a flying carpet (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/3-ded-moroz-on-a-flying-carpet-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz on a flying carpet (All images courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com unless otherwise noted) Santa, poised over the mission control center, peering at a gleaming satellite on the screen. Santa, gaze turned cheekily back, zooming over the Earth in a blazing rocket ship. In these delightfully wacky vintage Soviet postcards, holiday tradition meets the vibrant schlockiness of ’70s sci-fi. However wacky they look, these images actually represent a sophisticated political project, one that uses the allure of nostalgia to create a vision of a utopian, space-age future. ![Ded Moroz waving from a rocket (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/8-ded-moroz-waving-from-rocket-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz waving from a rocket (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com) Cheap to produce and designed for dissemination, postcards are a [convenient form of propaganda](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt5hjvpt.13?ref=hyperallergic.com). At the same time, they are personal in a way that posters and paintings aren’t. They travel from home to home, dispatched as symbols of consideration from family and friends. Examining this kind of intimate propaganda reveals a fascinating story about how holiday traditions are invented, along with the agendas that shape them. With the rise of the Soviet Union, the [celebration of Christmas was discouraged](https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/12/30/how-soviets-came-to-celebrate-new-years-like-christmas-and-why-russians-still-do/?ref=hyperallergic.com), in keeping with the state’s anti-religious policy. New Year’s replaced Christmas as the pre-eminent winter holiday. Indeed, despite the pine trees and presents, these are actually New Year’s postcards. The rosy-cheeked, white-bearded gentleman you see here is not Santa, but rather Ded Moroz, or “Grandfather Frost.” !['Lil Cosmonaut with a satellite (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/10-lil-cosmonaut-with-a-satellite-from-katya.jpg) ’Lil Cosmonaut with a satellite (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com) At first, Christmas was seen as an outright enemy of the people. It needed to be aggressively stamped out. In 1922, the [Young Communist League held an anti-Christmas](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1384758?ref=hyperallergic.com), featuring carols with stirring lyrics about “serving the worker’s revolution” and “restoring to the world the light of reason.” The climax of the event was the “burning of the gods”: stuffed effigies of Christ, Muhammad, and the Buddha were tossed onto a bonfire and set ablaze. ![Ded Moroz watches the sky (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/4-ded-moroz-watches-the-sky-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz watches the sky (Image courtesy Katya Zykova, soviet-postcards.com) However, over the next few decades, the government shifted to a subtler tactic — one that embraced almost every aspect of Christmas except Christ. They recognized that the ritual and excitement of the holidays was a powerful force and could be harnessed for political purposes. In 1935, [a prominent Soviet official wrote a letter in ](https://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/460186573/dont-call-it-a-christmas-tree-how-russias-yolka-survived-the-revolution?ref=hyperallergic.com)[*Pravda*](https://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/460186573/dont-call-it-a-christmas-tree-how-russias-yolka-survived-the-revolution?ref=hyperallergic.com), the official paper, calling for the reinstatement of the decorated tree as a part of the New Year’s festivities. The tree, topped with a red Kremlin star, was to stand as a symbol of the nation’s “happy youth.” When the government was trying to drum up support for research into nuclear power, they [molded ornaments](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qf6k8.14?ref=hyperallergic.com) in the shapes of nuclear-powered rockets, icebreakers, and automobiles. The famous Arctic explorer and Hero of the USSR, Otto Schmidt, [dressed up as Ded Moroz](https://www.jstor.org/stable/131748?ref=hyperallergic.com) to visit classrooms and hospitals every New Year’s. It’s easy to see how one idea led to another: if Ded Moroz could advance the glory of the state by exploring the North Pole, why not make his next expedition a voyage to the stars? Thus we have Grandfather Frost soaring through skies, striking a definitive victory in the Space Race with his sack of gifts clutched firmly in hand. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/5-ded-moroz-sees-off-the-cosmonaut-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz sees off the cosmonaut ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/6-cosmonaut-with-tree-from-katya.jpg) Cosmonaut with tree ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/7-ded-moroz-turns-into-stars-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz turns into stars ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/1-rocket-ship-with-tree-from-katya.jpg) Rocketship with tree ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/2-ded-moroz-and-boy-on-a-rocket-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz and boy on a rocket ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/9-ded-moroz-in-a-satellite-from-katya.jpg) Ded Moroz in a satellite ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/12-zooming-around-the-globe-from-boris.jpg) Zooming around the globe (Image courtesy Boris A. Glazer, mazaika.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2018/12/11-dancing-on-a-satellite-from-boris.jpg) Dancing on a satellite (Image courtesy Boris A. Glazer, mazaika.com)