Russian Murals and Graffiti

Given the bitter cold of winters in Russia, most graffiti artists begin to work in the early spring. According to some estimates in Moscow alone there are some 100 graffiti artists whose works are aesthetically admirable. The Russian street art tends to gravitate towards photorealistic style. The street artists may be categorize divided into those who are officially sanctioned by the authorities to create decorative images in the public buildings, a practice that has its historical root in the old Soviet Union. The second category is constituted by the free-spirit artists whose works are considered vandalism, but often contain a political message, protesting against some social injustice. Some of these artists work during the bitter cold of winters. Since 2009, the Moscow authorities have shown some interest in the street art, and have allocated certain public places to this art . Pavel Puhov, who signs his graffiti works P-183, or “Pavel 183″ and has been referred to as “the Russian Banksy” is apparently belongs to a new category, whose sophisticated political message is tolerated by the authorities, perhaps as part of the re-branding efforts in portraying Moscow as a liberal western metropolis. He has made videos of his graffiti art in which he sets fire to a large-scale graffiti portrait of a protester, or installs life-sized decals of riot police to subway station doors, which commuters by pushing the doors apparently push the police aside in a gesture of defiance. He also has made some pop art style work like his giant-scale chocolate bar Alenka, which reminds Warhol's Campbell Soup.

  -

-

-------------------------------------

Graffito “Worker”. Narvskaya square. Saint-Petersburg.

Mosaic “Chemist”. Dobrolubova prospect. Saint-Petersburg.

Astrological Signs, Mosaic by Anopova V,Saint-Petersburg

Soviet Union used murals as means of propaganda. However, with the demise of the regime these large propaganda panels in their historical context are now considered as art objects, mainly because the artists who created these works understood the aesthetically balanced compositions, and they tried genuinely to create authentic art. 

Russian graffiti has appeared  shortly after the Soviet era, and has been accepted by the pubic as a new art form, with various cities  holding graffiti festivals and inviting various artists to participate.

Graffiti festival in St. Petersburg , 2008

Graffiti festival, Moscow, 2007