Sergey Yakovlevich Sukhov’s "Sports and Physical Conditioning — At Any Age!" (1987) captures the Soviet Union's dedication to mass physical culture in the late Cold War era. Created during the perestroika period, this health promotion poster highlights the state’s ongoing focus on public fitness, despite broader social reforms. Its release coincided with Soviet preparations for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where maintaining the appearance of sporting excellence was essential for national pride. The piece shows how Soviet propaganda adapted its aesthetics while preserving themes of collective health and social responsibility.

The composition divides into three bold colour blocks—blue, green, and orange—centred around a Kazakh man flexing his biceps. Above him, vibrant illustrations of ice skaters showcase athleticism across ages. A green arch with Cyrillic text bridges the sections, symbolising sport’s universal accessibility. The man’s split colouring—youthful on the left and aged on the right—depicts both sides as healthy, underscoring the message that fitness is beneficial at any age.

Using a limited palette of blue, orange, and green, the poster creates visually distinct sections while maintaining compositional balance. Sukhov’s use of simplified figures and bold colours reflects modernist design principles, widely accepted in Soviet visual propaganda by the 1980s. The seamless integration of text and image, along with stylized figures, makes the message both accessible and sophisticated.

Sergey Yakovlevich Sukhov (1911–2003), a noted member of the Union of Artists of the USSR and an Honoured Cultural Worker of the Kazakh SSR, trained at the Yaroslavl Art School (1931) and the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (1943). Based in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), he built a significant career in fine art and poster design, covering Soviet themes from agriculture to communist ideals. His works are held in major institutions, including the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia.