Many of us have long admired the stark, artistic, political posters that characterised post-revolution USSR – and in the uneasy climate of bloody revolt, abject poverty and communist fervor, the battle to win Soviet hearts and minds was not just confined to the ominous billboards that overlooked the streets of Leningrad. From 1924 to perestroika, the USSR attempted to indoctrinate the silver screens by producing more than 4 dozen animated propaganda films.

They weren’t for export. Their target was the new nation and their goal was to convince Russian residents of the legitimacy of communism. Anti-American, Anti-British, Anti-German, Anti-Capitalist and Anti-Fascist, these films were to leave an indelible mark on Russia, and inspire a generation of animators.

And tonight from 9.00PM – a veritable feast of Russian propaganda will be aired on Sky Arts. Witness Ivano Vano’s (who was to become Russia’s foremost director of children’s animated films) attack on the church as an actively malignant social influence in Ave Maria – or the tragic tale of the courageous soviet child, shot by a Nazi for playing his own national anthem in The Pioneer’s Violin.

The full line up for tonight is as follows…. Or take a look at the Sky Arts website for more detailed descriptions on the programming.

9:00PM | Russian Propaganda: Someone Else’s Voice

9:10PM | Russian Propaganda: Ave Maria

9:20PM | Russian Propaganda: Shooting Range

9:40PM | Russian Propaganda: The Pioneer’s Violin

9:50PM | Russian Propaganda: We Can Do It

10:00PM | The Battleship Potemkin

11:05PM | Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl