On June 22nd, 1941, Nazi Germany launched its military attacks: German troops crossed the USSR border after a night of artillery fire and air strikes. At 4 a.m., Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop gave to the Soviet ambassador in Berlin, Vladimir Dekanozov, a written memorandum on the beginning of the war.

 
While battles were unfolding in the border zone, most of the USSR population were unaware that war had begun. Peaceful life for all Soviet citizens ended with the message of Vyacheslav Molotov, People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR. On June 22nd, at 12:15 p.m. Moscow time, he announced on the radio that the war had begun. It was the first time its definition “patriotic” was used.

 
In the foreground, on the left side of the painting, Sorogin depicted a pole with a loudspeaker; people stand around it and listen to the announcement of the war. Their faces are strained and confused. Villagers find it difficult to fully comprehend what has happened, but each of them understands that their lives will no longer be the same. This scene is depicted against an idyllic backdrop of a summer landscape with a small lake and village izbas (traditional Russian dwellings) in the distance.

 
Artist Gennady Sorogin was born in 1930. He created predominantly narrative-thematic paintings and adhered to the traditions of the Russian Realistic School.

 
In Soviet art history and artistic practice of the mid-20th century, narrative-thematic works were those which combined elements of the traditional genres of painting: domestic, history, battle, composition portrait, landscape and others.

 
Sorogin’s works included canvases dedicated to historical events, work and daily life of ordinary people, thematic landscapes, and portraits. Sorogin enjoyed painting large-format canvases; his works were characterized by open spaces with many separate details and a clear color palette of dark shades.