Tom and Jeri Ferris Russian Collection

The Tom and Jeri Ferris Russian Collection includes hundreds of posters, ceramics, and other artifacts from the Soviet Union dating from the mid-1970’s to the early 1990’s. It was assembled in the early 1990’s by the late Tom Ferris, a Russian studies teacher in Beverly Hills, and Iurii Komov, a Moscow-based writer.

A collection of 234 original paintings chronicle some of the key changes that the Soviet Union experienced under Mikhail Gorbachev and his policies of glasnost and perestroika. The themes span the full spectrum of the country’s social and political concerns including the failed coup of August 1991, Stalin’s terrors, environmental concerns, and the AIDS epidemic. The artworks speak vividly of a nation going through unprecedented economic and political turmoil preceding the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Their acerbic satire is the very embodiment of glasnost’s insistence on transparency and freedom of speech. However, they project optimism for a future that does not repeat the mistakes of the past. In addition to these artworks, the collection includes the original notes, memoirs, and some video interviews with several of the key artists.

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