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A Byzantine-style portrait of Mary and the infant Jesus reflects the new role for the Russian Orthodox Church within the Russian Federation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Alexei Rezaev, Mary and Christ, 1992
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A wooden stool reveals an image of St. George on a horse, fighting a dragon. St. George was a revered figure in the pantheon of the Russian Orthodox Church. Normally, such an icon would be respectfully displayed inside a church, surrounded by candles and incense. The artist references the Soviet practice of turning religious spaces and images into practical objects for everyday life.
Valery Kolesnikov, Ecology of Culture, 1990
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Instead of a halo, guns surround the Virgin Mary, their barrels pointing at her face. Her hands protect a candle flame made up of the Russian flag atop the Russian parliament building. The words at the bottom of the poster read, “Redeem and Save.� The depiction of religious protection of the Moscow White House references the 1991 coup attempt to oust Gorbachev from power, an event that culminated in a standoff between hard-line Communist Party members and the Soviet troops who refused to shoot protestors who were building barricades outside the parliament building. Mikhail Rozhdestvin, Redeem and Save, n.d.
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