1. Урок 6: Visual and Cultural Literacy
1. ИЗВЕСТНЫЕ МЕСТА You can’t visit Москва (or survive
there!) without using the
Московский метрополитен or, more
simply, the метро. The метро is a
massive system of underground rail
lines that take you virtually anywhere
in the city and nearby suburbs. As
long as you can find a station with the
large letter «М» on it, you can never
really get lost in Москва.

2. If you are planning to spend
any significant amount of
time in Москва, you should
learn the basics of the метро
maps—the different color-
coded lines (линии) and
especially the brown line
(the “ring line”—Кольцевая
линия), which provides
transfer points to each
colored line. Most of the
stations inside the ring also
provide transfers to other
lines, so it’s really not
difficult to navigate your way
around the city (and to cross
large distances). Many
метро station names end in
-ая, because they are
adjectives modifying the
word for station, станция.

3. The construction of the Московский Метрополитен was
begun under Stalin in the early 1930s, with the first lines
opening in 1935. At the time, the метро consisted of 13
stations, but construction continued throughout the following
decades. Currently, there are almost 200 stations, and the rail
lines cover over 200 miles.
The метро is the most common form of public transportation
in Moscow, with around 7 million riders each day.

4. Комсомольская
Киевская
From its conception, the метро was
meant to reflect the achievements
and promise of the Soviet peoples,
hence many of the earlier stations
are architecturally striking and quite
elaborate in their design and decor.
It’s worth spending a day just riding
the trains and exploring the
different stations.

5. Проспект мира
Новослободская
Новокузнецкая

6. Some other
stations honor
the culture of
neighboring
republics, like
the станция at
Белорусская.
Some of the stations are designed around particular
themes. The станция at Парк культуры, for
example, is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting
young Soviets engaged in various sport and cultural
activities
The Менделеевская станция features
lighting designed to resemble atomic
bonds in honor of its namesake, the
chemist Дмитрий Mенделеев.

7. As a monument (памятник) to
Soviet-era engineering, the
décor in many older метро
stations reflects familiar
figures and themes from the
Soviet past.

9. The метро station at Парк Победы (Victory
Park), which opened in 2003, offers an
interesting combination of styles and
commemorative themes, with two mosaic
panels at the end of each of the station’s
two halls. Designed by controversial artist
Zurab Tsereteli, one panel depicts the
victory over Napoleon in 1812, and the
other the victory over the Nazis in 1945. It
also features the longest escalator in the
Moscow метро system, taking over three
minutes to get from the top to the bottom.

10. The Достоевская станция is
another interesting newer station.
Opened in 2010, its interior depicts
scenes from Dostoevsky’s novels,
including the murder of the old
pawnbroker by Раскольников in
Преступление и наказание, as
well as the suicide of
Свидригайлов.

11. Of course, once inside the trains, you might
also see some sights now and then, like this
over-imbiber.
Perhaps more interesting, you might find
yourself riding the метро with a собака or
two. Moscow’s many stray dogs on occasion
ride the метро for a warm and dry place to
get some rest (this video will give you an idea
of how Muscovites normally react).
The Менделеевская
станция even has a
monument to a stray
dog named Мальчик
who was killed by a
mentally unstable
woman in 2001. The
monument is called
Сочувствие
(Compassion), and
invariably has fresh
flowers on it.

12. 2. ИЗВЕСТНЫЕ РУССКИЕ
Владимир Ильич Ленин (1870-1924)
This is a face well known to Russians, even
though it is not as ubiquitous as it was
during Soviet times. Владимир Ильич
Ленин (his real last name was Ульянов) was
the leader of the Большевик revolution in
October of 1917, which overthrew the
Provisional Government (which, in turn, had
overthrown the tsar in February of that
year). After his death in 1924 a cult grew
around Ленин, and his image appeared
virtually everywhere—in state buildings, in
the metro (as you saw), on money, on
stamps, etc. In some ways, Ленин replaced
God for the now officially atheist Russians.

13. Ленин was born in Симбирск, a city located on
the river Вольга. (After Lenin’s death in 1924 the
city was renamed Ульяновск in his honor). His
family was middle-class in origin, and his father
was a member of the hereditary nobility. His
older brother, Александр, was arrested and
executed for his involvement in a revolutionary
plot against the tsar in 1887.
Young Владимир began to become interested
in the radical cause as well, and eventually
joined a revolutionary cell and became a
Marxist. His revolutionary activities quickly got
him into trouble; after being imprisoned and
then exiled to Siberia, Ленин left Russia in
1900 and spent most of the years leading up
to the revolution in Europe, agitating for a
radical and violent revolution from afar. A file card on Ленин kept by the Russian secret police,
circa 1896

14. Ленин made a triumphant return to Russia in April 1917
after the first revolution in February. His arrival at the
Финляндский вокзал in Петроград (now once again
known as Санкт Петербург) became a popular subject
for paintings like this one on the right by А.В. Русин. A
large statue of Ленин stands outside the station (below).
Growing dissatisfaction with the Provisional
Government over the coming months allowed
Ленин and the Большевики to gain power, which
culminated in October of 1917 in the storming of
the Зимний дворец and the overthrow of the
Provisional Government headed by Александр
Керенский.
П.П. Соколов-Скаля, «Штурм Зимнего Дворца»,
1936-40

15. Difficult times followed for both the newly formed Soviet
government and Ленин. The revolution was followed by a
period of civil war, state-sponsored terror, famine, and
rebellions. Ленин survived two assassination attempts and, in
1922, suffered the first of three strokes. After the third, in
March 1923, he was no longer able to speak or to walk. He died
on January 21, 1924, at age 53.
The last photo taken of Ленин,
after his third stroke.
Ленин tried, after his first stroke, to
warn against placing unlimited
power in the hands of one
individual—in particular, Сталин—
but his last “testament” was
suppressed, allowing Сталин
eventually to secure complete
power over the next few years. The
actual relationship between Ленин
and Сталин remains somewhat in
question, with claims that
photographs like the one to the left
were later doctored on Stalin’s
orders to show a closer relationship
between the two men than there
actually was—and thereby secure
his legitimacy as Lenin’s successor.

16. The “cult” of Ленин grew quickly after his death. Санкт-Петербург,
which had been renamed Петроград during the first World War, was
renamed again as Ленинград. Monuments to Ленин were erected all
over the country, and his name was appended to many places and
institutions.
The very character of Ленин was transformed as well: the ruthless and
calculating politician became the «самый человечный человек» (the
most humane human), friend to children and protector of the Soviet
land and its people.
Ленин appears on the insignia for
the Пионеры (Pioneers), the
Soviet equivalent of the Scouts.
There are many,
many paintings that
idealize the role of
Ленин in children’s
lives.
There are also many,
many plaques on
buildings throughout
Москва and Санк-
Петербург that
commemorate
something significant
that Ленин said or did
there.

17. After his death in 1924, Lenin’s body was
embalmed and placed on permanent display in a
tomb on Red Square (Красная площадь) by the
Kremlin walls. The red and black granite
mausoleum that houses Ленин today was built in
1973. If you aren’t too squeamish, you might find
this video called Как моют Ленина interesting. It
shows how they do regular “maintenance” of the
mummified corpse of the former Soviet leader.

18. Today in Moscow, many statues of Ленин,
Сталин, and other Soviet leaders can be found in
the “Fallen Monument Park” by the Москва-река
behind the Центральный дом художника, which
houses the Tretyakov Gallery’s collection of 20th
century Russian art. These cast-off monuments
are scattered around somewhat haphazardly,
some of them reflecting damage done in the
period following the fall of the Soviet Union (see
the nose-less Stalin below). There are lots of
interesting incongruities (like this little girl
oblivious to the significance of the man whose
statue she is playing on).

19. 3. ИЗВЕСТНЫЕ ХУДОЖНИКИ И ИХ КАРТИНЫ
Rather than look at a single artist in this lesson, we’re going to look instead at a
particular style of art—Socialist Realism (Социалистический реализм). In the first
decade or so after the revolution, there were many competing tendencies in both
literature and the visual arts, each exploring the question of the role of the arts in the
new Soviet society. Despite the rich creative experiments that went on in all the arts in
the 1920s, the Soviet state determined that art would play a much more narrow,
prescriptive role in the new society. Adopted as offical state policy in 1934,
Социалистический реализм dominated Soviet art until the 1980s.
Борис Иогансон, «Допрос
коммунистов», 1933

20. Социалистический реализм
demanded that art be realistic in
form and socialist in content. Artists
were to depict—no matter what
their actual subject—in a realistic
way the people’s progress towards a
better life in the communist future.
This contradictory task significantly
limited the range of appropriate
subjects for art.
А. А. Пластов, «Сенокос», 1945
В. Е. Попков, «Строители Братска»,
1960-1

21. Of course, many paintings of социалистический
реализм depict Ленин and Сталин.
А. С. Герасимов, «В. И. Ленин
на трибуне», 1947
Исаак Бродский, «В. И. Ленин в Смольном в 1917
году», 1930
В. М. Орешников, «В. И. Ленин на экзаменах
в Петербургском университете», 1944-47
(Above we see Ленин impressing his professors with his
brilliance on his oral exams.)

22. К. Трохименко, «И.В. Сталин как
организатор Октябрьской
революции”, c. 1940
Ф. Шурпин, «Утро нашей Родины»,
1948
В. Ефанов, «Незабываемая встреча», 1936

23. Сталин was also a great
friend of children…
And sometimes we have both Ленин и
Сталин... Many paintings helped to
reinforce the idea that Ленин and
Сталин were close, as in these works by
Алексей Васильев, on the left, and
Иван Владимиров, on the right.
Б. Владимирский, «Розы для И. В. Сталина», 1937

24. Many paintings depict significant scenes from
the революция and Soviet history, like these
two works by В. А. Серов.
«Зимний взят», 1954«Выступление Ленина на II съезде Советов», 1955

25. «Колхозный праздник»,1937
«Мать партизана», 1943
С. В. Герасимов was a prolific
producer of works of
социалистический реализм. Here
are two of his more famous ones—
an outdoor celebration on a
collective farm and the mother of a
partisan fighter during the war,
defiantly refusing to respond to the
orders of the Nazi soldier
demanding information on her son.

26. Depicting the happy, healthy, active
lives of Soviet youth was also a
common theme in socialist realist
painting, as we can see in these works
by Александр Дейнека.

27. Life on a collective farm (колхоз) is yet
another common subject of socialist realist
painting.
Г. Г. Ряжский, «Колхозница-
бригадир», 1932
Unknown artist, «Колхозницы»

28. «Письмо с фронта», 1947 «В новую квартиру», 1952
These famous paintings by А. И. Лактионов are classics of социалистический реализм
depicting the lives of ordinary Soviet families—on the left, reading a letter from a family
member at the front, and on the right, moving into a new apartment (notice they didn’t
forget to bring Сталин!).

29. Another classic of
социалистический реализм is
«Опять двойка» (1952) by Ф. П.
Решетников. А двойка in
Russian schools is the equivalent
of an “F.” This мальчик has once
again disappointed both his мама
and himself. But at least his
собака still loves him. The phrase
«опять двойка» has become an
idiom in modern Russian, with
lots of internet memes based on
it. It’s also the title (and subject)
of a short мультфильм from the
popular children’s series,
«Баркбоскины».

30. 4. «ИДИОМЫ» РУССКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ:
МАТРЁШКА
Most of us are probably familiar with this figure—the
Russian wooden nesting doll called a матрёшка. The
матрёшка consists of several dolls, each one nesting
inside another. The size and number of dolls in a set
varies, as does the design of each doll. In most cases,
the doll is wearing a Russian peasant shift called a
сарафан, with a scarf (платок) on her head.

31. Though we tend to think of the матрёшка as a quintessential Russian symbol,
it actually entered Russian culture only at the end of the nineteenth century,
and its inspiration was in fact a Japanese doll. The first матрёшка (below) was
designed by artist Сергей Малютин and carved by craftsman Василий
Звёздочкин in 1890.

32. Here we have a матрёшка doubling as a киоск,
holding lots of things inside it….

33. The мaтрёшка model has been
turned into a huge commodity
in the post-Soviet souvenir
trade, where you can buy not
only the traditional dolls, but
also dolls featuring sports
teams, musicians, celebrities,
dogs breeds, cartoon
characters, presidents, and
other historical figures.

35. In the middle of the photo to the
left, you can see how Joe Biden, in a
twist on the “president матрёшка,”
was given one with previous vice-
presidents inside.
You can even have a мaтрёшка
mаde from photos of your family, if
that’s your thing…