Figure 1.--Celibacy is one of thedidderences which develope between the Eastern and estern churches. This is an imaginative depiction of the family of an Orthodox priest in a rural area of Soviet Russia. We are not sure who the artist was. It seems to depict a family duing the Soviet era, perhaps the 1950s. At that time, the priests lived in real poverty under sevre persecution. As part of Tsarist society. Religion had been an important part of Tsarist society and a pillar of support for the state. The Soviet Atheist Policy was an intergal part of Communis ideology--including the supression of the majority Orthodox Christianty. Ee would guess that it was probbly painted later, almost certainly after teSoviet perios, perhaps about 2000s. The Soviet realistic continued because that is how most artists painted for 50 years or so, but the depition of an Ortodox Priest and his family became possible. The families of priests are traditionally large. For a more acuuuate vie as to how the boys may have been dessed see Nikolay Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky

We have no information on Russian art before the Christian era. The earliest paintings we know of comes from the Christian era and involved the painting of icons. This was an artistic tradition acquired from Byzantium. There it evolved from an offshoot of the mosaic and fresco tradition which was used to decorate early Byzantine churches. Unlike Byzantium, icons were never banned in Russia, but the iconic style became almost fossilized. Russia began increasing its contacts with the West as European culture influences began affecting Russian art. The French were very influential, especially in court and aristocratic circles. It was only in the 19th century uniquely Russian artistic styles began to appear. There are wonderful genre scenes from the 19th century n a realistic style. These artists depicted the inequities in Russian life as liberal forces pressed for social reform. By the late-19th century the wind of modernism reached Russia. The Revolution occurred just as modernism flowered with artists like Cladimir Ratlin and Alexsandr Rodchenko shoeing the influence of Cubism and Futurism. The Revolution harnessed art as a force to showcase the new society being created or at least an idealized version of what the wanted to create. Very quickly after the Bolsheviks seized power, authorities not only began to dictate not only style, but the subjects chosen as well as the the orientation depicted. Soviet artists faced significant restrictions on freedom of expression. Before the Revolution, artists with left-wing views led the modern art movement. This fundamentally changed as Stalin seized control of the Soviet sate. (1928). Stalin significantly expanded state control. Stalin (like Hitler in Germany) had no appreciation for modern art, in fact he hated modern art and the artists creating it. What Stalin appreciated was realistic depictions of a Socialist utopia. Some called them trite depictions. And the NKVD not only gave him the ability to not only get what he wanted, but to end the production of what he did not like. No only did this end the production of modern art and not sufficiently slavish propaganda, but to arrest artists that did not comply. They were committed to the Gulag or executed. Many did not survive the Gulag. The innovative, creative work of the 19th and early 20th century stopped. Soviet art after the rise of Stalin became hack work, sterile propaganda depictions. Socialist Realism was the only approved art style, and dissent was met with severe repercussions. However, after Stalin's death, a period of liberalization known as the 'thaw' allowed for a degree of artistic experimentation. Official censorship and control remained, but the severity of repression declines.

Pe-Christian Era

We have no information on Russian art before the Christian era.

Byzantium

The earliest paintings we know of comes from the Christian era and involved the painting of icons. This was an artistic tradition acquired from Byzantium. There it evolved from an offshoot of the mosaic and fresco tradition which was used to decorate early Byzantine churches.

Tsarist Era

Unlike Byzantium, icons were never banned in Russia, but the iconic style became almost fossilized. Russia began increasing its contacts with the West as European culture influences began affecting Russian art. The French were very influential, especially in court and aristocratic circles. It was only in the 19th century uniquely Russian artistic styles began to appear. There are wonderful genre scenes from the 19th century n a realistic style. These artists depicted the inequities in Russian life as liberal forces pressed for social reform. By the late-19th century the wind of modernism reached Russia. The Revolution occurred just as modernism flowered with artists like Cladimir Ratlin and Alexsandr Rodchenko shoeing the influence of Cubism and Futurism.

Soviet Era

The Revolution harnessed art as a force to showcase the new society being created or at least an idealized version of what the wanted to create. Very quickly after the Bolsheviks seized power, authorities not only began to dictate not only style, but the subjects chosen as well as the the orientation depicted. Soviet artists faced significant restrictions on freedom of expression. Before the Revolution, artists with left-wing views led the modern art movement. This fundamentally changed as Stalin seized control of the Soviet state. (1928). Stalin significantly expanded state control. Stalin (like Hitler in Germany) had no appreciation for modern art, in fact he hated modern art and the artists creating it. What Stalin appreciated was realistic depictions. Some called them trite depictions. And the NKVD not only gave him the ability to not only get what he wanted, but to end the production of what he did not like. No only did this end the production of modern art and not sufficiently slavish propaganda, but to arrest artists that did not comply. Sovet authorities strictly controlled art as apart os an overall conrol of culture. The appeoved style was Socialist Realism. Socialist Realism was the only approved art style, and deviation and dissent was met with severe repercussions. It was an stridently optimistic depictions of Soviet life and the 'Soviet man and woman'. The realiism was style, not anctual depiction. The idea was to depict a Socialist utopia, not actual Soviet conditions. The Soviets estblished the Artists' Union strictly enforced the official policy of Socialist Realism. Only members were pemitted to create art. Artists who who did n cmply faced severe consequences. This included , including expulsion from art schools for youngeartits. Established rtits coukd b xpelled from the Artit's Union or arrest and commment to the Gulag labor camps. There were even executions during the Purges of he 1930s. Mny did no survive the Gulag. The innovative, creative work of the 19th and early 20th century stopped. Soviet art after the rise of Stalin became hack work, sterile propaganda depictions. However, after Stalin's death (1953), a period of liberalization known as the 'thaw' allowed for a degree of artistic experimentation. This was approved by Nikita Khrushchev as spart of his Destlinizatio Effort. This launched a period of liberalization which permitted artists a degree of freedom to experiment and to alimited extent create non-sanctioned works. No official policy changes were made, but artists began to feel less fear of draconian repercussions. Artists wwere allowed to paint in alternative styles, but had to do so privately and could not exhibit or sell their work. Not overtly anti-Soviet art was permitted andthat coukd still get you in real trouble. Official censorship and control remained, but the severity of repression declined. Despite the continued official restrictions, a non-conformist art movement emerged, with artists creating works outside of the government-sanctioned process. A few artists wanted to pursue the abstraction associated with modern art pioneered by the Russian avant-garde in he late-19th and early-20h century. Most artists followed the estbished guielines of hyper-realistic works and followed ppobed sujects to meet approve propagandaieces. Those artists Artists who wanted to experiment and still show their work and reach an audience had to do so creatively or even surreptitiously. Even with The Thaw, there was great personal risk

Post-Soviet Russia

Official censorship ended with the collose of Communism andthe Sviet Union (1991). The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to artists being free from the controlling communist regime, and they began creating works independently from the state. Some artists were glad to forget Soviet art and life in general, with a "fatigue" of anything remotely Soviet leading many to dismantle and hide works of Socialist Realism. But this began to change after Vladamir Putin became president (2000), but nhing like the Soviet era. The treatment of subjects varied. Any positive depiction of religon was forbiden duing the Soviet era. This was, hwever, permissible during the Soviet era. .

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Created: 3:19 AM 3/21/2025
Last updated: 3:20 AM 3/21/2025