Primary sourcePaintingc. 1918-1919

Sacrifice to the International

Unknown artist (monogram "МВ" or "ВМ") · c. 1918-1919

A White anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster from the Russian Civil War, showing Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders in a hostile caricature.

Depicts Lenin as a target of hostile Civil War-era propaganda by anti-Bolshevik forces.

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Anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster titled 'В жертву Интернационалу'. Caricatured Bolshevik leaders, named along the top, sacrifice a bound figure on a fiery altar beside a stone monument inscribed 'ИНТЕРНАЦИОНАЛ'. Soldiers with red stars and ammunition belts laugh in the foreground. — "Sacrifice to the International", White Russian anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster, c. 1918-1919.

About this source

What it is

This is a White Russian anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster made around 1918-1919 during the Russian Civil War, by an unidentified artist. It shows caricatures of senior Bolsheviks, including Lenin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Sverdlov, Kamenev, Lunacharsky, Uritzky, and Radek, sacrificing an allegorical figure representing Russia to a statue of Karl Marx.

Why it matters

The poster is a primary source on how opponents of the Bolsheviks tried to turn public opinion against them during the Civil War, using exaggerated and hateful imagery. It includes racist caricatures and stereotypes, showing how propaganda of this period combined political attack with prejudice.

Look closer

Who made this poster, and what message were they trying to send?
How are the Bolshevik leaders, including Lenin, portrayed, and why?
What harmful stereotypes appear in the image, and how do they reflect the attitudes of the time?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vladimir Lenin on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.