Why We Fight

During World War II, the sheer devastation and suffering experienced by the Soviet Union became a unifying force that would help fortify their defense efforts. During World War II, the sheer devastation and suffering experienced by the Soviet Union became a unifying force that would help fortify their defense efforts. Without their collective effort, both …

Thawing Stalin’s Legacy

The period directly after the death of Josef Stalin has been recorded in Soviet history as a cultural revival and liberation. Following decades of state censorship and fear of imprisonment, many artists and writers were able to be more liberal in their artistic direction. Under Stalin, political dissent was virtually unheard of with cultural purges …

Spatial Reinterpretation

Biography Born in St. Petersburg, Alexandr Rodchenko was a revolutionary artist that helped reimagine Russian art in the early 20th century. He was raised in a working-class family with little economic opportunity. Only after the death of his father was he able to afford formal schooling. He was educated at the Kazan School of Art, but …

Rural Revivial

“Russia - country of landscapes… I hope the time will come, when all Russian nature, alive and penetrated by spirit, will look from canvases of Russian artists…” - Shishkin     Russia in the 19th century was a country dominated by a strict class system. Its cultural identity was torn between two polar opposites. Wealthy …