There is surprisingly little, and certainly nothing comprehensive, written about the contemporary Russian scene now. What appear in the West are mostly reports about so-called 'dissidents', not about what is happening in this vast culture, taken as a whole. Too often, these reports seem to be primarily inspired by a desire to demonstrate Western cultural and political superiority. The aim of Russian Art in the New Millennium is not to support any one cause, but to look at the situation as it now exists objectively and to give as wide and truthful a view as possible. Russian art during the period under review - the last two decades - has been evolving rapidly and in many directions. Hence there are sections on digital art, landscape paintings, graffiti, religious art and others. Furthermore, in addition to the continuing influence of the traditional centres for art - Moscow and St Petersburg - a number of provincial Russian cities have developed distinctive art worlds of their own. Russian Art in the New Millennium attempts to discover this terra incognita and to encompass this extremely various, but also intensely national art scene in Russia in one volume.

There is surprisingly little, and certainly nothing comprehensive, written about the contemporary Russian scene now. What appear in the West are mostly reports about so-called 'dissidents', not about what is happening in this vast culture, taken as a whole. Too often, these reports seem to be primarily inspired by a desire to demonstrate Western cultural and political superiority. The aim of Russian Art in the New Millennium is not to support any one cause, but to look at the situation as it now exists objectively and to give as wide and truthful a view as possible. Russian art during the period under review - the last two decades - has been evolving rapidly and in many directions. Hence there are sections on digital art, landscape paintings, graffiti, religious art and others. Furthermore, in addition to the continuing influence of the traditional centres for art - Moscow and St Petersburg - a number of provincial Russian cities have developed distinctive art worlds of their own. Russian Art in the New Millennium attempts to discover this terra incognita and to encompass this extremely various, but also intensely national art scene in Russia in one volume.

The following dissertation attempts to deal with the subject of the unofficial Russian art of the 1960s and its avant - garde role in the development of Russian art as a whole as well as its intrinsic links with tradition and the first Russian Avant - Garde at the beginning of the 20th century. It consists of a brief history of Russian art for a better understanding of its historical links and European influences. It then approaches the first Russian Avant - Garde of the 20th century, mentions the reasons of its decline and triumph of Socialist Realism and explores the second Russian Avant - Garde of the 1960s. It studies works of the three important artists of the period whose examples were also used to show their milieu and the origins of the ideas of the Avant - Garde of the 1960s and to evoke the atmosphere of the period. The most significant art movements and groups of the 1960s and 1970s are also described. The role of the art of the 1960s is evaluated in the Conclusion. The terms and names in Italics are explained in the Glossary.