The parade which took place on the Red Square on November 7th, 1941, was an important page in the history of the Great Patriotic War. The German army almost made it to the capital, where a state of siege was declared and a curfew was imposed. The decision to organize a parade was made following the wish to raise the morale of the fighters and chase the panic away. The parade was prepared in strict secrecy in order to prevent the provocative acts and misinformation. It was symbolical that from the Red Square the soldiers went directly to the battle line. The capital was left behind their backs and its capture by the enemy’s army could change the course of history forever.

This defining historical moment was depicted by many Soviet painters, such as Konstantin Yuon, Konstantin Vasilyev, Yury Reyner, Fyodor Kogan, Daniil Cherkes. Each of them depicted this event in their own way highlighting the different things, be it the Kremlin towers, the lines of soldiers, the mausoleum, or the tribune.

The Moscow painter Daniil Cherkes was well-known as a poster painter and a designer working in the theatre of Meyerhold. He was also a founder of Russian animated cartoon. He manifested himself in many genres.
His painting “To the Battle Front. Winter 1941” was created in 1941-1943, and it can be seen in the interpretation of the subject. The author himself was a witness of the parade, but on the canvas this event looks triumphant and light, filled with the bright colours. The whole action is saturated with hope for the victory. The truth is that the painter was finishing the painting after the victory of the Soviet army in the Battle of Stalingrad, where the radical turn in the course of war took place. Perhaps this is why the painting is bathed in sunlight, even though in reality the day was gloomy.

Soldiers, of course, are the main characters of the painting. However, the central part is occupied with the Saint Basil’s Cathedral, being the symbol of Russia and its heart. In just a few days after this event the Hero of the Soviet Union, one of the Panfilov’s Twenty-Eight Guardsmen Vasily Klochkov said, “Russia is big, but there”s nowhere to recede. Moscow is behind! ”

The painting”s composition accented on the church also reflects the change of the Soviet politics considering religion. The Party top lightened the bans in this sphere in order to console and raise the morale of the nation exhausted by war.