Bay! According to the enemy of the cultural revolution. (Unknown artist) Soviet Posters (1917-1941)

The composition presents a stark visual directive framed within a rectangular format. A central target dominates the view, constructed from concentric rings of black and yellow. The innermost circle is a stylized depiction of a human head in profile, rendered in muted blue tones. Emerging from the upper right corner, a bottle of alcohol intersects with the target’s outer ring, seemingly poised to strike the figure within.
Above this graphic element, bold Cyrillic lettering proclaims Бе́й! (Strike!). Below, another block of text reads “По врагу культурной революции.” (“Against the enemy of the cultural revolution”). The overall color scheme is restricted to black, yellow, and blue, contributing to a sense of austerity and urgency.
The artist’s choice of imagery suggests a symbolic attack on perceived threats to societal progress. The target itself implies an act of focused aggression, while the bottle of alcohol functions as both the instrument of that attack and a representation of the enemy being targeted – likely alluding to decadence, counter-revolutionary sentiment, or undesirable cultural influences.
The stylized head within the target lacks individual characteristics, transforming it into a generic symbol representing those deemed opponents of the prevailing ideology. The use of a profile view reinforces this sense of anonymity and dehumanization. The composition’s simplicity and directness are characteristic of propaganda art, designed to elicit an immediate emotional response and promote a specific action or belief. The work functions as a call to arms, urging viewers to actively combat forces perceived as detrimental to the cultural revolutions goals.