Throughout its long history, Russia has been home to many brilliant painters, sculptors, authors, and poets. However, many of those artists found themselves struggling behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. Even with the fall of Communism, it's still possible to see the scars on works of contemporary Russian art.

Historically, Russian art took many cues from classic European styles and artists, producing traditional portraits and landscapes. Symbolism featured heavily in the works of such painters as Mikhail Vrubel. But after the Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union, the new standard for art was Socialist Realism. Art essentially was judged on how well it expressed the ideals of the State and showed realistic portrayals of strong workers and successful proletariats. This style, of course, lost its influence with the breakdown of Communism and the fall of the USSR in 1991.

In modern Russia, the dominant school of post-Soviet art is essentially postmodernism. The defining characteristics of postmodernism are deliberate ambiguity and a skeptical attitude toward established forms. In this case, Russian postmodern art is a reaction to Socialist Realism and the country's current prospects. The fall of the government and the social upheavals that followed have left a bleak view of Russian identity, although some optimism can be found. The modern art community in Russian has also struggled since, unlike artists in Europe and the US, there is virtually no support or art policy from the government.

To understand contemporary Russian art, you should look into some of the country's most prominent artists:

Victor Kalinin is an artist from Zalesovo whose oil paintings mix bright and muted colors; his style seems traditional, but uses Cubist angles to evoke a sense of confusion and disruption.

Sergey Sokolov studied as an engineer before becoming an artist; he uses mixed media on canvas, creating geometric patterns that underlie a bleak sentiment.

Alexander Yulikov is a prolific painter who plays around with bright colors and changes in perspective; some of his portraits also draw inspiration from Russian Orthodox iconography, which has been making a resurgence since the fall of Communism.

If you want to see contemporary Russian art in person, you can visit museums like the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the State Heritage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis.

Image by thierry ehrmann on Flickr