In 1919, Tatlin was asked by IZO (Visual Department, formed by Narkompros) to propose a monument to the Revolution and he submitted a proposal for Monument to the Third International, known as "Tatlin's Tower." It was a commentary on Lenin's 1918 'Plan for Monumental Propaganda' which replaced monuments from the 'Tsar and their servants' with sculptures of sixty-six father-figures of the Revolution. Tatlin's tower was to be built in glass and steel. It s main form was a double helix which spiraled up to 400 meters high. Visitors would be moved around mechanically, passing flashing messages on a giant screen showing the latest world news. In its overhead, projections onto clouds would relay messages to the city. The tower's purpose was to surpass the Eiffel Tower as a sign of capitalism. But, like the Eiffel Tower it had its memorable form and became famous as an image. Although this monument was never built, it leads to several tendencies of modern art: its tendency to express utopian ideals, to experiment with new materials and techniques, and to blur the boundaries between fine art and engineering(Encarta,2000). However, Lenin did not like it; he preferred the Eiffel Tower (Bowlt 149-150).
	In Europe, the Modernists used 'the language of vision' which was useful for advertising. However, the Soviet artists were faced with the challenge of helping sell revolution to a wide population, many whom were illiterate. The 'lubok' was a tradition of visual communication in Russia (Hollis 149). It was narrative woodcut broadsheets-icons, and illustrated political magazines. At a time of civil war and political riot, images and words became the source of revolution (Hollis, 44). Posters promoted the visual slogans and political allegories during this time, and developed new resources of photography and typography.