Let's get to Berlin!
In the world of fine art, the poster by Russian artist Leonid Golovanov "Let's reach Berlin!", created in 1944, is considered a true masterpiece.
A smiling fighter adjusts his boot against the backdrop of a column of Soviet troops moving West. The soldier's gaze shines with confidence in himself and his comrades. "Let's get to Berlin!" reads the poster. And it feels like they're coming!
Leonid Golovanov's work accurately reflected the spirit of the times. A turning point had come in the war, and confidence in the final victory over fascism had strengthened in Soviet society.
A poster, as you know, is a kind of synthetic art, where, along with an expressive and concise image, an equally expressive and concise text is present in a full-fledged role. Leonid Golovanov's work "Let's Get to Berlin!" exactly corresponds to this definition. The gesture of a fighter adjusting his boot on the march could be interpreted literally and very grounded, but the text complements, deepens and spiritualizes the image, giving the poster a different tone and thematic focus.
It is important that the artist Leonid Golovanov portrayed as a fighter not some generalized, collective image, but chose a specific, real war hero - sniper Vasily Golosov, by June 1943, whose personal account listed 422 Nazis killed, and 70 of them were snipers. This is one of the best results among all the snipers who participated in the Second World War. Golos trained 170 snipers in the company, with a total tally of more than 3,500 enemy soldiers and officers killed.
The hero was born in Belyovo
Vasily Golosov was born in the ancient Russian town of Belyovo. He graduated from the fifth grade and worked at the Belyovo drying plant before being drafted into the army.
After serving, he moved to Moscow, where he was in charge of the household at one of the secondary schools.
When the Great Patriotic War began, 30-year-old Vasily Golosov was drafted back into the army. In early July 1942, he became a soldier of the 25th Guards Rifle Division. In the battles to capture the bridgeheads on the Don River, he proved himself to be an accurate marksman. Golosov was immediately noticed by the command — he became the instigator of the sniper movement in the division.
In September 1942, Vasily Golosov was sent to the All-Union sniper rally. The newspaper Pravda reported about this event. Golosov's last name was also mentioned in the article as one of the best Soviet shooters. Of all the fights with German snipers, he emerged victorious.
But on August 16, 1943, during the fighting for the village of Dolgenke in the Izyumsky district of the Kharkiv region, Lieutenant Vasily Golosov's guards died during an enemy air raid and artillery shelling. Wounded by a splinter in the chest, he fell to the ground. Snipers A. Terteryan, A. Petrenko and others ran up to the commander to help him. But it was too late: he died before he could say a single word of farewell. Military friends buried the commander, near the Apiary farm. And then we moved further west to smash the enemy...
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 26, 1943, Lieutenant Vasily Ivanovich Golosov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously) for his courage and bravery shown in numerous battles and for the destruction of 422 Nazi Guards.
Artist Leonid Golovanov, while working on the poster "Let's reach Berlin!", saw numerous photographs of Vasily Golosov in frontline newspapers and decided that it was the image of this particular warrior that best suited his poster.
So the deceased hero continued to fight, supporting and strengthening the morale of his comrades.
He continued to work and fight
After the end of the war, artist Leonid Golovanov returned to his beloved image, creating another wonderful poster that is well known today — "Glory to the Red Army!".
In it, the same smiling soldier with orders and medals on his chest stands against the background of the wall of the Reichstag, on which hangs a poster "Let's reach Berlin!". Among the murals of the victorious soldiers on the wall, a bright inscription "We have reached!" is visible. With the second poster, the artist seemed to put a victorious bold dot in the story of a Soviet soldier.
But the image went beyond its intended scope. There are two more posters completing the series. This is "Glory to the Red Army-Liberator", dedicated to the struggle for the freedom of China. And the fourth poster, titled "We win in labor," vividly and convincingly described how war heroes became heroes in peaceful life.
Vasily Golosov, thanks to the artist Golovanov, gained immortality in the image of both a victorious soldier and a hard worker. And this is probably the best reward for a hero.
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Literature
1. Heroes of the Fiery Years. Moscow, 1980, book 4.
2. Their high feat is immortal. Tula, 2nd ed., 1983, p.145.
