88
This painting depicts a black radioactive symbol against a yellow background. The symbol resembles a fan or windmill blowing radioactive debris, referencing the explosion in the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in 1986.
Alexander Vaganov, From Where Will It Blow Now?, 1991
89
The title of the work references the new era of space-travel technology that began with the 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik. In this painting, a satellite is painted as a white outline, with the Earth at its nose, and rainbow paint at its rear in place of flames. The peaceful message across the top of the painting, in conjunction with the protected circle around the Earth, promotes the idea of the whole world working together in the name of progress and peace.
Alexander Vaganov, To the 21st Century in Peace and Consent, 1990
90
Andrei Sakharov was perhaps the Soviet Union’s best-known scientist and human rights activist. He was the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. Sakharov was sent into exile during the Brezhnev era for protesting against Soviet military involvement in Afghanistan. In one of the most dramatic gestures of the early years of his leadership, Mikhail Gorbachev released Sakharov from exile. Sakharov died of heart failure in 1989. In this painting, he is represented as a comet lighting the darkness of Soviet history.
Alexander Vaganov, A.D. Sakharov, 1989–1990
32