Nearly the entire history of Soviet culture was spent under the dictatorship of socialist realism. Now that the dictatorship has collapsed, having lost its organizing power and vital energy,, a curiosity about socialist realism -- especially its classical period of the thirties to the fifties -- has arisen. The theory was introduced in order to pave the way toward a bright new future -- the Communist paradise. The masters of Soviet culture were to be guided through this project under the vigilant supervision of the Bolshevik party. However, the project to create socialist realist art was an ideal concept in itself. Not even the most grandiose monument could have matched the ideals of this project. Readership: Academics and professionals in the areas of history of art, Soviet and Eastern European studies, and history.
