Culver City,
California
x
Maker: Suharev
Viva Russia!
Date Made: 1991
Country: Soviet Union
Measurements: 90 cm x 60 cm; 35 7/16 in x 23 5/8 in
Boris Yeltsin raises his fist in victory, his bust superimposed over a painted background of red, white, and blue in the order of the colors on the Russian flag. Yeltsin’s face is obscured by multicolored scratches, a purposeful defacement of his image that is supported by the splattered, almost bloody nature of the red paint of the flag. The year of the painting, 1991, was the year that Yeltsin was popularly elected to the office of President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republics. Yeltsin gained further popularity during the failed coup against Gorbachev in August 1991, where he famously stood atop a tank outside the Russian parliament building and gave a speech defending the White House against the hard-line Communists attempting to grab power. This work criticizes Yeltsin’s opportunistic speech during the coup attempt and subsequent power grab after Gorbachev eventually stepped down in December 1991.
Accession Number: 2009.053.187
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