The painting ‘News from the Village’ was created by Vladimir Serov — one of the most famous representatives of Socialist Realism. Like Isaak Brodsky, whose work provided a blueprint for the art movement, Serov dedicated a lot of his works to Leniniana, which is the name for all visual and literary tributes to Vladimir Lenin.

Nina Tumarkin, the art history professor who wrote the book ‘Lenin Lives! The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia’, insisted that the image of a wise leader was not just a flight of painters’ imagination. The Soviet vozhd seemed to be genuinely humble while addressing the people:

The painting aims to demonstrate these positive qualities: Lenin stops to speak to Red Army soldiers right in the middle of the hall and reads the letter they show to him with great attention. His whole appearance expresses interest and involvement, and he looks like a wise leader who is ready to pull himself away from work and listen to those in need.

The Red Army mainly consisted of peasants. It is likely that the soldier in the painting has just received a letter from home with news about how the Decree on Land is being carried out in his village. To gain some explanation of the intricacies of law, he turned to Lenin for help.

Vladimir Serov painted a lot of works that depicted the kind and humane leader. The most well-known painting from that series is the 1950 ‘Vladimir Lenin Speaking to Peasants’. It is considered a great example of Leniniana because of its composition showing the vozhd not standing above the faceless crowd, but rather communicating on equal ground with the characters that have their own personalities. In this sense, the 1959 painting ‘News from the Village’ also contributes greatly to the Leniniana legacy.

Serov’s artwork gives a clear idea about the concepts that were favored by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s — 1950s. Essentially, they were all part of the idealized Socialist Realism, that was based on the combination of being “supportive of the party, close to the masses, and realistic”. The signs of all three of the principles can be found in Serov’s paintings.