Volgograd authorities defend apparent AI use after residents spot telltale signs on Victory Day poster

Authorities in the Russian city of Volgograd are defending a poster for Russia’s 9 May Victory Day holiday that appears to have been AI-generated, attributing its smeared, indistinct faces to “painterly stylistics”, according to independent news outlet Podyom. The banner drew attention on social media after a local resident filed a complaint.

The poster, which depicts a column of soldiers alongside a holiday greeting, was displayed at a bus stop in the city centre. It drew the ire of at least one resident, who pointed to the soldiers’ blurred faces, unfinished epaulettes, and crooked buttons, and questioned why anyone would use AI to “generate imagery for Victory Day”. “To my mind, this isn’t just shoddy work — it’s outright mockery,” he told the local media outlet V1.ru.

City authorities told Podyom that the poster was based on an authentic military photograph which was subsequently edited and colourised in the style of a painting. Officials attributed the blurred details to brushstroke effects and provided the purported original photograph as evidence.

“According to the organisation that placed the banner, the image was produced on the basis of a historical photograph depicting Soviet soldiers marching through Berlin in May 1945,” the administration said. “The image was edited using modern technology in a painterly style, in which brushstrokes can reduce the visibility of fine details.”

Local residents, meanwhile, flagged a number of additional oddities, such as a yellow cord dangling from the ears of a soldier like earrings, when such a strap should be attached to a military cap; epaulettes whose placement appears nonsensical; and background faces that are barely recognisable as faces at all.