45 Fun and Flirty Images From the Merging of Soviet Social Posters With American Pin-Up Art

Known for his unique style, Valery Barykin’s prints contrast the aesthetic of the beloved American Pin-Up culture and its heightened sexuality with the sharp-edged and saturated colors of Soviet Russia’s propaganda posters. His upbringing was surrounded by socialist advertisements and mass produced American pin-up photographs that slowly made their way into Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The women in his works often resemble Soviet Russian film stars such as Lyudmila Gurcgenko and Natalya Fateeva who are sometimes scantily clad and the object of attention. Barykin displays his outrageously gorgeous and provocative women in unexpected everyday familiar situations as they enthusiastically continue to perform their stereotyped roles and female duties.

Born in 1966 in Ivanovo, Russia, Valery Barykin’s unique style emerged from his upbringing in a strict military family and his years as soldier in the Soviet army. The strict socialist advertisements of his youth and the slow trickling in of mass-produced American pin-up photographs that made their way into the country after the fall of the Soviet Union helped to develop his distinctive style. He began combining these two opposites into his own illustrated scenes depicting the US’ liberal sexual freedom juxtaposed against strict Soviet propaganda extolling the values of Communism.

Here, below are some stunning illustrations from his amazing work.