The Saransk artist Vladimir Yakutrov created an image of the Soviet world, which he understood as the kingdom of justice and social harmony. The symbol of this utopian world was the canvas “Kommunisticheskaya Street” (Communist Street) painted in 1980.
Yakutrov’s landscape is reminiscent of an architectural plan as viewed from above by a Soviet architect. The center of Saransk is shown by the artist in a conventional manner: a powerful perspective of a straight street is boldly drawn from top to bottom, its buildings are divided into three groups, each depicted from its own angle.
The urban view is presented by the artist as a traditional symbol of shared hope for a bright future, as a chance for a lively society. This was clearly indicated in the city toponomy: the name of the street is quite noteworthy — the Communist street, that is, it leads to communism.
Since the 1960s, Soviet urban planners preferred submitting their projects in the form of huge mock-up models. The plastic city of the communist future was not detailed, but it was striking in its size. Vladimir Yakutrov’s painting is executed in the same manner.
At the turn of the 1980s, Saransk, the capital of the national autonomous republic was actively developing economically. The city was expanding and new houses were being built without any obstructions. In the painting, typical tan and beige five-story residential buildings march in a friendly file to the horizon: with these microdistricts the city grew in all directions every year.
In the background, a television tower is depicted against the sky as a symbol of modern technology and we see silhouettes of multistory buildings. The city is buried in trees to the very horizon: the autumnal fiery crowns resemble a sea of red banners at a workers’ demonstration.
Pedestrians swarm on the sidewalks, a stream of public and passenger transport moves along the roadway. An active, but somewhat chaotic city life is brought to order by a traffic controller standing at the intersection. He symbolizes power and seems to transfer authority from the designer of the project to the managers.
The buildings of the Council of Ministers, hotels, the state bank and the telegraph are depicted in the foreground, they are followed by the Erzia Museum and the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions. These public buildings based on standard designs were erected on the site of wooden blocks in the late 1970s. They formed the city’s community center on Kommunisticheskaya Street.
Among the buildings with pylons and flat roofs, the only feature of urban design stands out — the fountain “Dandelion” on Communist Square. This is the public center of the Soviet city: large and multistoried, the views from it are quite impressive.
Yakutrov’s landscape is reminiscent of an architectural plan as viewed from above by a Soviet architect. The center of Saransk is shown by the artist in a conventional manner: a powerful perspective of a straight street is boldly drawn from top to bottom, its buildings are divided into three groups, each depicted from its own angle.
The urban view is presented by the artist as a traditional symbol of shared hope for a bright future, as a chance for a lively society. This was clearly indicated in the city toponomy: the name of the street is quite noteworthy — the Communist street, that is, it leads to communism.
Since the 1960s, Soviet urban planners preferred submitting their projects in the form of huge mock-up models. The plastic city of the communist future was not detailed, but it was striking in its size. Vladimir Yakutrov’s painting is executed in the same manner.
At the turn of the 1980s, Saransk, the capital of the national autonomous republic was actively developing economically. The city was expanding and new houses were being built without any obstructions. In the painting, typical tan and beige five-story residential buildings march in a friendly file to the horizon: with these microdistricts the city grew in all directions every year.
In the background, a television tower is depicted against the sky as a symbol of modern technology and we see silhouettes of multistory buildings. The city is buried in trees to the very horizon: the autumnal fiery crowns resemble a sea of red banners at a workers’ demonstration.
Pedestrians swarm on the sidewalks, a stream of public and passenger transport moves along the roadway. An active, but somewhat chaotic city life is brought to order by a traffic controller standing at the intersection. He symbolizes power and seems to transfer authority from the designer of the project to the managers.
The buildings of the Council of Ministers, hotels, the state bank and the telegraph are depicted in the foreground, they are followed by the Erzia Museum and the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions. These public buildings based on standard designs were erected on the site of wooden blocks in the late 1970s. They formed the city’s community center on Kommunisticheskaya Street.
Among the buildings with pylons and flat roofs, the only feature of urban design stands out — the fountain “Dandelion” on Communist Square. This is the public center of the Soviet city: large and multistoried, the views from it are quite impressive.
