18 Soviet interiors depicted in Russian paintings (PICS)

Tretyakov Gallery
A lot of residents of today’s Russia spent their childhood and youth in typical Soviet apartments, amid their ornamented carpets, chests of drawers and dusty entresols. We’ve come up with a selection of pictures that evoke a pang of nostalgia, even with a cursory glance at them.

Almost everyone in the Soviet Union lived in a typical Soviet apartment block (the most common type of housing in the country), spent their summers in their grandmother’s dacha (country house) or shared public space in communal housing. The interiors of these places became the cultural code for the entire country. Cupboards with weighty crystal vases and porcelain, geraniums on the windowsill, lace tablecloths on the table, a string of laundry hanging across the kitchen -  these little things shaped the Soviet interior with its unique aesthetic. 

Artists, likewise, paid attention to Soviet everyday life. Below are the most interesting paintings of the time.

1. Yury Pimenov. Lyrical house-warming. 1957

2. Konstantin Istomin. At the window (in the room). 1928

3. Anatoly Levitin. Warm Day. 1957

4. Mikhail Roginsky. Communal kitchen. 1992

5. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Behind the samovar. 1926

6. Konstantin Istomin. Vuzovki. 1933

7. Yury Pimenov. Quiet cafe. 1971

8. Yury Pimenov. Lights of the University. 1963

9. Nikolay Zaitsev. Conversation with mother. 1984

10. Stanislav Zhukovsky. Easter still life. 1915

11. Isaac Brodsky. Fallen leaves. 1929

12. Yury Pimenov. In the rooms. 1930s 

13. Andrey Tutunov. Popkov in Priluki. 1974

14. Nikolay Zaitsev. At Grandma Katya's. 1976

15. Yury Pimenov. Morning purchases. 1951

16. Natalia Egorshina. Figure and semi-figure. Kitchen interior. 1980

17. Yury Pimenov. Morning windows. 1959

18. Dmitry Zhilinsky. Portrait of the diplomat V.S. Semenov with his wife and daughter. 1978 

Dear readers,

Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following:

  • Subscribe to our Telegram channel
  • Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter
  • Enable push notifications on our website
  • Install a VPN service on your computer and/or phone to have access to our website, even if it is blocked in your country

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

Read more

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

Accept cookies