Landscape

Landscape painting grew extremely popular in response to the German invasion of June, 1942 and also in 1954 and 1955 when artists traveled to document the Virgin Lands experiment. As with the earlier Itinerants, landscapes became symbols of shared values and nationalist pride. The popularity of landscape painting also implied a decline in the representation of communist ideals and its replacement with traditional Russian values.

Russian winters in particular lend themselves to impressionistic painting and artists seemed to enjoy exploring the colors and reflective light offered by snow.