Paintings of the Russian Revolution

[Larry1]

I came across a collection of paintings of the period of the Revolution and Civil War.  They were done by Ivan Vladimirov, who also painted scenes of the Russo-Japanese War and the first World War. I attached two of them, one of soldiers running amok in the Winter Palace and another entitled "Requisition", an anodyne word for sending Bolshevik gunmen out to steal food grown by peasants.

If you're interested in more you can see them here:

http://englishrussia.com/2013/01/24/revolution-in-pictures/#more-118870

[mendeleyev]

Very nice, Larry.

[BBC]

It's amazing that his paintings were displayed in the Soviet museums rather than liquidated (including himself). Highly realistic scenes of the time he portrayed did not appeal for the sympathy to the revolutionists and Soviet in general.

"Unfortunately I. Vladimirov finally turned into quite an ordinary battle-painter, who began to create in the style of mimetic socialist realism (to serve the interests of the Soviet leaders)" (stated in the link).

Well, he died at age 78. Why blame for getting away from the principles for the sake of family and himself? It's easy to criticize from the distance of decades, especially after the system failure he had to live in.

[Eduard]

Yes, most artists, poets, musicians had to do what they had to do to survive and to feed their family. Wouldn't be right to judge them. Even in a supposedly "free" society like the US look what happens when a guy (the golf player) mentions to the press that he is thinking of moving from California because of high taxes there! Next thing we know he is apologizing for his statement because he is afraid that it will negatively affect his career. In the Soviet times not cooperating with the party line could mean imprisonment or even death (or both).