Russian Urban Art: History and Conflicts

Until 1932, decorations took place on a grand scale. In city squares, on avenues, and in the streets of Petrograd, Moscow, and other cities, triumphal arches were erected, podiums were built, buildings and entire architectural ensem

As can be seen from this review, many artists are often apolitical and do not adhere to any ideology. For many of them, street art and graffiti are just a game, the excitement of conquering urban verticals, and for some, simply a creative way to make money.

The outburst of street art in Russia represents the growing maturity of civil society, reflecting the degree of social discontent at all levels, from the courtyard and the city to the country in general.

From the perspective of the politicized content of works, one of the street series of the artist Misha Most is also interesting. Having solid experience of graffiti activity, as the founder of the project, No Future Forever, and as a member of one of the first graffiti crews CGS, he creates works of a social and post-apocalyptic nature. His series, Constitution Live (2013–2014), is in many ways a logical extension of his graffiti practices, and intersects both with the folk and civic graffiti which usually appears in unstable political situations.

Pasha mainly addressed everyday matters of existence in the city; in 2011 he created two politicized works: To Incendiaries of Bridges and Truth to Truth.

Later, the artist became known for his political works, Loss of strength (2011), You were cheated (2011) and Figure #1: Stability (2012).

In the street art community, a political agenda was not so explicit. However, more and more street art artists were switching to political and social themes.

This is largely due to the fact that Russian public space is always a site of tension and represents the intersection of various interests, such as those of commerce and government, and of ordinary citizens. Thus, any engagement of public space is, a priori, a political gesture.

After 2008 the practice became more renowned, more refined, but not necessarily more experimental or pioneering

Many street art works were not only unrelated to their social and political context, but also unrelated to the city’s dimensional experiences, its architectural forms, for instance. The conceptual component of street activity that seemed important to me at the time was virtually absent too