
Maker: Aleksei Rezaev
Stalin's Constitution
Date Made: 1991
Country: Soviet Union
Measurements: 64 cm x 94 cm; 25 3/16 in x 37 in
Stalin presented a new constitution to the Soviet people, written with the help of scholars and intellectuals. Although it was a legal document and promised several freedoms, people who tried to exercise these freedoms were executed. The scholars unknowingly wrote their own death warrents. This painting presents a red book with the Russian text "Stalinskaia Konstitutsiia," which translates as "Stalin's Constitution." Embedded between the pages of the book and hanging from a hook at the top center edge of the composition is the red star. A portion of the book is cut out, and an intellectual is inside the opening, reading even though his hands are in chains. The year 1937 appears at the bottom of the work, which was one of the most violent years of Stalin’s Great Purges.
Accession Number: 2009.053.169
Item Name: Painting
Credit Line: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris
Collection/Series: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris