Apollinary Vasnetsov preserved his love for the Russian North from an early age. The artist grew up in the village of Ryabovo, Vyatka province. His father was a priest, an enlightened man, who was interested in natural sciences and astronomy, painted, knew and loved nature, and instilled love for his native land and his children.

At the age of 13, Apollinary was left a complete orphan, and at that moment his older brother became his main mentor. Victor had already studied at the St. Petersburg Imperial Art Academy, and when contemplating his brother’s drawings he saw in him a future painter. After graduating from a theological school in 1872, at the insistence of Victor, Apollinary moved to Saint Petersburg. There he met Repin, became interested in geology and almost entered the Geological Institute. Having lived in Saint Petersburg for four years, he took painting lessons from eminent masters, but, carried away by populist ideas, did not enter the Art Academy. He passed the exams for the title of people’s teacher and went to work in his native Vyatka province. However, three years later, having gone through a passion for the ideas of populism, he left for Moscow, where he devoted all his strength to art.

Konstantin Korovin called Apollinary Vasnetsov ‘an artist who paints by impression’. He went for these impressions all over the world. He visited the Crimea, the Caucasus, Siberia, Ukraine, and the Urals. The painting ‘The Orenburg Steppes’ was created from the materials of his travels in the Middle and South Urals in 1890-1891. All the figurative means of the canvas, the rhythm of the hills receding to the horizon, the restrained color scheme contribute to the transfer of the epic breadth and grandeur of the ancient Ural land. The expression of the historical national spirit in Vasnetsov’s landscapes was achieved by special expressive techniques and means. This is about the “picturesque” of the composition, the panoramic scope, the techniques of pictorial generalization, and the vitality of the image.

At the same time, the image of Russian nature carried a social burden and expressed great patriotic ideas. The paintings of Apollinary Vasnetsov basically have two directions: landscapes and historical plots, which were based on a deep knowledge of the history of his native country. In addition to artistic practice, Vasnetsov was actively involved in social activities, being a member of various societies (the Union of Russian Artists, the Archaeological Society) and commissions for the protection of cultural monuments.