Digital Edition – Vintage 1968 Soviet Cheburashka & Crocodile Gena Theatrical Poster

Instant digital download of the rare and charming 1968 Soviet theatrical poster for the Leningrad Puppet-Marionette Theatre’s production of Cheburashka (Чебурашка), a children’s fairy tale by Eduard Uspensky and R. Kachanov, directed by Honored Artist of the RSFSR V. Lopukhin. Download instantly and print at your preferred size and paper stock.

This poster captures a precise and consequential moment in Soviet cultural history. When puppet sculptor Margarita Skripova-Yasinskaya crafted the stage puppet for this 1968 production, she made the bold artistic decision to give Cheburashka his now-iconic oversized, round ears — a radical departure from Uspensky’s original 1966 text description. The following year, production designer Leonid Shvartsman adapted the same visual identity for the legendary 1969 Soyuzmultfilm animated film, permanently cementing Cheburashka’s look in global pop culture. The print exhibits classic late-1960s Soviet graphic design: bold block typography with a vibrant, playful palette — Crocodile Gena in his iconic green scales and checkered vest, a stylized girl puppet with a pink bow, and the soft orange-textured prototype Cheburashka holding a balloon string against a whimsical cityscape silhouette.

Publication Details
Story: Cheburashka — fairy tale by E. Uspensky & R. Kachanov
Director: V. Lopukhin, Honored Artist of the RSFSR
Puppet Sculptor: Margarita Skripova-Yasinskaya
Year: 1968
Theatre: Leningrad Puppet-Marionette Theatre, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), USSR
Original medium: Offset lithograph on paper
Style: Soviet Late-1960s / Theatrical Graphic Design
Original size: 60 × 90 cm (23 × 35″)

What You Receive
1 high-resolution JPEG file
Print-ready at 300 DPI
Sized for printing at 24 × 36 in
Instant download after purchase
Personal use licence included

File Details
Format: JPEG
Resolution: 300 DPI
Print size: 24 × 36 in
Licence: Personal use only. Commercial reproduction, resale, or redistribution is strictly prohibited.