Three graphic works in the folk lubok style form a striking addition to the “Traditional Peasant Life” section at the Unecha Museum of Local Lore. They were donated to the museum by Viktor Petrovich Penzin, former director of the Moscow Museum of Folk Graphics.
A lubok is a printed graphic work — originally produced from a carved wooden block or metal plate, and then hand-colored. The term lubok is of Slavic origin and originally referred to the soft inner layer of tree bark (called lub), from which everyday items such as baskets and utensils were made in ancient times.
Lubok prints emerged in Russia during the era of Peter the Great. Bright, humorous, and affordable, they were produced in the thousands and sold for just a few kopecks. They depicted satirical scenes, patriotic events, everyday life, and moralizing tales. Initially known as “German funny sheets”, they were soon adapted by Russian artisans, who quickly mastered woodcut and etching techniques to create their own distinctive prints.
The Orthodox Church repeatedly banned lubok art, deeming many prints irreverent or blasphemous. Later, the state imposed restrictions on depictions of the monarchy. Paradoxically, these prohibitions only increased their popularity: folk printers began producing images clandestinely, and public demand grew. Eventually, authorities were forced to establish a special censorship office to review and license printing plates.
With the rise of industrial printing presses, the lubok entered a new phase. Until the late 19th century, it remained the only form of mass-produced visual art accessible to ordinary Russians. The state continued to regulate its content, eventually instituting formal police censorship.
The lubok also served as a powerful tool of political propaganda: during the Patriotic War of 1812, World War I, and other national crises, it functioned as an early form of the propaganda poster. However, after the 1917 Revolution and the Russian Civil War, traditional hand-printed lubok gradually gave way to modern printing technologies.
Scholars identify several characteristic features of the traditional Russian lubok: vivid hand-coloring over a bold contour print; simplified — even coarse — drawing style; small sheet size; and the consistent inclusion of explanatory text in small type beneath or beside the image.
Today, though no longer part of everyday life, the lubok lives on in museums and exhibitions as a unique monument to Russian folk culture. One of the prints on display at the Unecha Museum is a 20th-century reproduction titled “The Cat of Kazan, the Mind of Astrakhan, the Wisdom of Siberia”.
According to cultural historians, the figure portrayed is Peter the Great. He was among the most frequent subjects in Russian folk art. This image carries a clear political message. Not all common people supported Peter I’s radical reforms — and this ambivalence found vivid expression in folk art.
