This poster represents the oppression that Dmitri Shostakovich and many of his fellow Russian composers faced during Joseph Stalin’s reign. Shostakovich was an avant-garde composer prior to the restrictions placed on him. He was forced into a box of rules he had to abide by in fear of prosecution. This design evokes the Russian Constructivist style as well as the militaristic tone of the first symphony Shostakovich composed while Stalin was in power.