Artist Bio: Konstantin Gavrilovich Dorokhov

Dorokhov was born in Moscow on March 6, 1906 and died in 1960. At the beginning of his art career he studied at the Moscow High Art Technical Institute. Following in line with the Regime, many of his paintings focused on the laborers of the nation. His art reflected his idea that the nation was under construction.

In 1930's, his art became mostly portraits. His message reflected his thoughts that the destiny of the individual was connected with that of the nation. Dorokhov liked to depict a youth with strong hopes and aspirations to carry and hold the nation in the future. During the 1940's he focused on thematic painting, but was criticized by the Academy of Arts for not painting in the approved classical style.

Constructions at the Village of Mazilovo- 1955
Dorokhov liked to travel and thus painted many landscapes showing various parts of the Soviet Union. They showed cities, farm fields, and industrial towns. He was also an active painter during the Great Patriotic War. He sketched the men fighting valiantly on the front line, showing the strength and courage of the men.  

Artist Bio: Anatoli Paviovich Levitin

Anatoli Levitin was born in  Moscow in 1921. Throughout his childhood he gained artistic skills and knowledge through his education. He attended the Central House of Artistic Education of Children in Moscow. Levitin later attended the Academy of the Arts in then Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). During World War II, Levitin was drafted and was fighting from 1942-1945. When the war ended, he returned to Leningrad and enrolled in the Department of Paintings at the Repin Institute.

Levitin is known for his realist paintings. He worked to depict common people, young and old. He also painted about the Revolution of 1917 and the Great Patriotic War. Levitin did not tend to paint plain landscapes. Typically he added people and emotion into the painting, using the landscape to add to the overall theme of the painting. Levitin was very skilled at using humans to convey different messages. It was common that he would take experiences from his life and transform them into painted messages as well.
Return of Yuri Gagarin  and Valentina  Tereshkova

The painting at the left is a good example of Levitin's artwork. The emotion and theme all stems from the people. The facial expressions exhibit happiness and clearly glorify the moment. The background adds to the painting yet, is not a main focus.  

Final Interview: Preserving and Showcasing this part of Russian history

Sergei Luchishkin
Skiers - 1926
Painting follows common sports theme


The Russian State Museum in St. Petersburg is undoubtedly one of the greatest museums to explore Russian art. The entire museum is devoted to displaying solely Russian art. I was lucky enough to visit the museum three times, twice in a tour group and once with only my community consultant. When I visited as part of a group, we saw art from many time periods, but barely had enough time to see all of the most famous pieces. The museum is so large and full of many spectacular pieces. When I went with my community consultant we focused mostly on Soviet Era art. Although as previously noted, we did not see all too much Socialist Realist Paintings. My third interview was with a curator at the Russian State Russian Museum. I had the chance to ask her about how decisions of what paintings to display were made. We also discussed the international interest in Socialist Realist paintings.

When I asked about how paintings are selected she told me that artistic merit is the number one factor. After that she said, "When considering a Socialist Realist narrative painting, it is primarily its theme, its subject matter and not the political slogan that define the selection." The museum itself does not have enough space to display many paintings from this time period, so the selection process is very strict.

Vyacheslav Pakulin
Woman with buckets - 1928 (?)
She also mentioned that paintings from this time period are in high demand in Russia. There are many temporary exhibits throughout the major cities in the country. Twice a year the Russian State Museum holds a special seminar for college students about Socialist Realist paintings. This allows for more education and exposure. She noted that formal publications on Socialist Realism are lacking, but there are publications that accompany the exhibitions.

On the global scale, there is high interest into Russian Socialist Realism paintings. She explained about the international and domestic exhibitions, "In the recent past such exhibitions were associated with reconsideration of the Soviet cultural and artistic legacy and achievement in the context of disintegration of the Soviet Union. As a result, this art was presented in a chronological order and in the academic way (when possible), namely the official art and non-official art, artists of the first rank and of the second rank and so on." There have been a few international exhibits that have begun to occur regularly as well. This huge piece of Russian history and culture is still very much a fascination of the world. 

Socialist Realism: popular themes and ways to connect to people

Socialist Realism became the recognized art form of the Soviet Union. In 1922 the Association of Arts of Revolutionary Russia was formed. Although this was not a government-supported group, it stuck to the regimes ideals in the paintings. The main objectives of this group were to connect to common people and glorify the revolution. In order to do so the artists worked to depict the Red Army, workers, peasants, revolutionary activities, and heroes of labor. Themes that directly related to the common people were the most effective in glorifying the regime and what it stood for. Paintings of collective farms, sports, and industrial / urban subjects connected with people the most since it basically showed their daily lives.
Aleksandr Makovsky 1922 - Boy with Doll
An early AKhRR painting
In 1932, this group was ended, along with many of the other independent art groups. What took its place was the Union of Soviet Artists. There were 11 unions created in various republics along with 53 regional unions including the Moscow Union and the Leningrad Union. The concept of creating one common union for the artists lent itself to direct ideological control for the regime. There were seven main requirements for these official artists to follow:
1. The art had to be easy to understand.
2. The art had to be popular with the masses.
3. The art had to be appreciated for its value and message.
4. It was preferred to have a storytelling component.
5. It should show the history, mission, and achievement of the Soviet Regime.
6. The art should inspire, motivate, and education the people.
7. The art had to stay current with the times and the artists had to be ready to serve the needs of the regime.

Although these seem constricting, the artists who were part of the Unions were not concerned. At the time the official artists believed in the Regime and the ideals it was promoting. The actual style of painting was not heavily regulated, although French impressionism was a strong influence during this time. The artists admired the French Impressionism, but did not like the post-impressionistic styles or French Modernism. The regime also tried to keep outside influences under control, which led to overall rejection of popular styles in the West. Despite that, impressionistic styles were very common.
Maya Kuzminichna Kopitseva
At the Bath House - 1954
A happy depiction of an event that many people
under the Regime could relate to