Twenty Six
A 26 hős
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| Poster Origin : | Hungary |
| Poster Size : | Hungarian A1 / 594 x 841mm |
| Poster Artist : | Arpad Bodnar |
| Poster Year : | 1966 |
| Poster Version : | First Release |
| Film Origin : | Azerbaijan / USSR |
| Film Director : | Azhdar Ibragimov |
| Film Year : | 1966 |
This sparse image depicts the execution of the 26 Baku Commissars on a remote hillside in 1918, the yellow representing the arid landscape, the violet splatter of ink on the ground is of course blood. The colours reference the emblem of Azerbaijan - the yellow wheat ear and the green oak bough, and also feature on the emblem of Turkmenistan where the executions took place.
The film received a small release in some Eastern Bloc states, no doubt to extoll the virtues of the political regime. During the Soviet era, the commissars - whose task was to seize power - were eulogised as martyrs, and at the time of this release Hungary was firmly under the influence of Soviet propaganda; this regional title ‘The 26 Heroes’ tells us exactly how we are supposed to regard these men. To this day opinion is divided. They were demons to some and angels to others, but one thing is certain; the massacre was a triumph for the Soviet propaganda machine.