Evidence of the tense relationship between church and state

The Makers

Since the Imperial Playing Card Factory had been established in the nineteenth century, Russian card production had always been monopolised by the authorities. After the fall of the Tsar in 1917, the manufacture of playing cards came into the hands of the state. In true socialist style, the Soviet authorities controlled production of cards throughout the twentieth century, often using it as a means of propaganda, as evidenced by the present deck.

The Cards

This deck embodies the tense relationship between communism and religion in the USSR. Each suit represents one of the four leading religions in Russia at the time:

Clubs – Russian Orthodox Church

Diamonds – Judaism

Hearts – Catholicism

Spades – Buddhism

If religion, according to Karl Marx, is the ‘opium of the people’, these cards depict the dealers with all their vices. Each double-figure court card shows a religious leader ostensibly fulfilling his or her duty, while in the background their true intentions and desires are shown. The priest, for instance, holds up a cross in the foreground, while behind him stands a table laden with food and wine; a rabbi reads from his holy book with one hand, his other hand open to catch notes and coins. Likewise, a seemingly devout nun holds a candle in reflection, but in the background her true dreams of a romantic relationship are revealed. Most ominously of all, behind a Catholic priest at prayer is the decapitated head of a woman…

The Ace cards show vignettes of various religious buildings and meeting places, satirised with the addition of trivial or commonplace objects, such as musical instruments. On the joker, a capitalist entrepreneur is pictured as the devil, holding leaders from the respective religions on a leash. As if the theme were not obvious enough, the present deck was published under the title ‘Anti-Religions Cards’.

FAN-C-PACK Co. Inc. [Past-L-Eze].

Publication New York, Fac-c-pack Co. Inc. 1935.

Description

52 lithograph playing cards, plus one joker, plus one blank, scene of horse and carriage to versos.

Dimensions 89 by 56mm (3.5 by 2.25 inches).

References

Dawson, Tom & Judy: The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards, U.S. Games Systems Inc., 2000; Segeth, Uwe-Volker: Spielkarten Jugendstil und Art Déco, Edition Christian Brandstätter, Wien, 1994; Van den Bergh p237.