Anti-Fascist Propaganda Pack for the Siege of Leningrad, 1942
In 1942 a pack of ‘anti-fascist’ playing cards was designed by Vasiliy Andrianovich Vlasov mocking the rulers of Germany and the Axis powers.
Towards the end of 1941 Stalin gave orders that playing card production was to be resumed in Leningrad and a pack of ‘anti-fascist’ playing cards was designed by Vasiliy Andrianovich Vlasov mocking the rulers of Germany and the Axis powers. Working under difficult conditions and with no electricity, the pack was finally ready for distribution in 1942 in an edition of about 700 copies. The characters portrayed are from those countries that had attacked Russia in 1941: Germany, Romania, Italy and Finland. The Queens and Aces are allegories of the times and the Joker shows Goebbels►
Above: a selection of the original cards from 1942, with Russian indices, also showing the cropping guide marks and colour palette.
Modern re-prints
Above: a re-print of the Anti-fascist playing cards published by Peterhof State Museum, 2010.
REFERENCES & CREDITS
Mētra, Jānis: Propaganda Pack for the Siege of Leningrad, in "The Playing Card" Vol.32 no.3, Nov/Dec 2003, IPCS, England.
By Valentin Krasavin (Валентин Красавин)
Russian Federation • Member since January 05, 2014
Activity for Anti-Fascist Propaganda Pack for the Siege of Leningrad, 1942
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Heritage Preservation Cards : Afghanistan and Iraq
Twin decks with a noble purpose.
Antikriegsspielkarte
Hand- and stencilcolored anti-war playing cards by Siegfried Heilmeier, 1983
Cartes à jouer républicaines
Political cards engraved by Gaillard in Lyon during the Franco-Prussian War and the birth of the Thi...
Politicards 2008
Politicards ’08 with caricatures cast as characters from classic movies, USA.
Theatre of Pain / Teatr Boli
Theatre of Pain / Teatr boli playing cards depicting politicians and leaders in the Caucasus territo...
Game Over
‘Game Over’ political playing cards from Israel, 2006.
History of the Russian Revolution
A pack of playing cards about the Russian Revolution, USA, c. 2021.
War Profiteers playing cards
“War Profiteers” playing cards, USA, c. 2004.
Try’em playing cards
Try’em: the U.S. Regime Change, or “52 Most Wanted Criminals” c. 2003.
Iraqi Most Wanted Playing Cards
Playing cards used to help troops identify the most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein's government. 2...
Anti-Fascist cards, 1943
Satirical Anti-Fascist cards designed in 1943 by Ivan Ivanovich Kharkevich.
Petrovskie
Petrovskie, politicheskie karty Rossii (Russian political cards), 1997.
Soviet propaganda posters
Propaganda posters of the Soviet Union.
Russian Federation
Russian Federation pack featuring leading political figures of the time, c.2000.
Victory
“Victory" cards celebrating U.S. participation in the Allied victory, c.1945.
Atouts de la Vie
“Atouts de la Vie” wartime card game created by Madame Lucien Willemetz, c.1940.
In der Fuehrer’s Face
“In der Fuehrer’s Face” playing cards designed in 1945 by Antonio Arias Bernal, a Mexican artist, bu...
L’union fait la force
“L’Union Fait la Force”, sometimes known as “the Allied pack”, has the four suits dedicated to the v...
Anti-Religions
Clubs represent the Russian Orthodox church, Hearts Roman Catholicism, Spades Confucianism and Diamo...
Russian Constitutional Playing Cards, 1909
A rare American Russian political pack depicting events and moods in early 20th century Russia.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
Ваня Козлов (Vanya Kozlov)
19 November 2025, 09:47SavedSaved this article to Ваня Козлов's Collection