Reich, Mikhail Voldemarovich

Mikhail Voldemarovich Reich was a Soviet graphic artist, painter, and illustrator. The artist began his career starting in 1920 to 1923 at the Shock Movement School of Arts of the East (a.k.a. School of Oriental Arts) in Poltoratsk, Turkmen SSR (today, Ashgabat, Uzbekistan). While his education was not essentially artistic, he remained in the Uzbek SSR after his schooling to work as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines. This decision helped refined his illustration skills. Reich also lent his talent to periodicals and books of Uzbek folk tales.

In the 1930s Mikhail Reich began creating political posters in both Russian and Uzbek languages. His posters covered industrial labor, political holidays, and national defense. Some of the titles he designed were: “Defending the homeland is the sacred duty of every citizen of the USSR /Constitution of the USSR, Article 133" (1938, with artist Konstantin Cheprakov), "On September 1st, We Will Begin Operation of the First Production Line of the Chirchik Plant" (1940), "Greetings to the Victors!" (1945), "Comrades, Keep Your Money in Savings Banks!" (1946), "Everyone to the Harvest!" (1954), "Soviet Power Opened the Path to Happiness and Knowledge for All!" (1957), and "More cotton for the Motherland!" (1958).

Reich led a brigade of artists to a host of Soviet construction sites. One such trip was to the Fergana Canal endeavor and another was to the Chirchikstroy project, a hydroelectric improvement. Reich stayed at Chirchikstroy for nearly a year and created a portfolio of over 300 sketches and 200 drawings. These works, predominantly industrial nature, were added to issues of the magazine, Chirchikstroevsky Crocodile. In addition, his industrial series was represented at the 1940 All-Republic Exhibition of Artists of Uzbekistan, an event in Tashkent that commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic and showcased Russian and Uzbek artists.

When the Second World War broke out in the Soviet Union, Reich created satirical posters aimed at fascism. He participated in the first anti-fascist poster exhibition (during the summer of 1941) at the House of the Red Army in Tashkent. From 1942 to 1945, the artist worked as a designer on military construction projects in the Urals. During the post-war period, Reich continued to design posters and he collaborated with Mushtum (fist), the Uzbek satire magazine. Additionally, he led a brigade of artists to the construction site of the Chaozhou–Swatow railway in China.

In 1949, Reich moved to Kiev, Ukrainian SSR for three years where took a job illustrating children's books. While in Kiev, the artist was also commissioned to illustrate historical novels. Mikhail Voldemarovich Reich was a member of the Union of Artists of the Uzbek SSR.