Lenin and Krupskaya in a Winter Landscape

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (1870 – 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. As the founder and leader of the Bolsheviks, Lenin led the October Revolution which established the world’s first socialist state. His government won the Russian Civil War and created a one-party state under the Communist Party. Ideologically a Marxist, his developments to the ideology are called Leninism.

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (1869 – 1939) was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. She was a leader of the Bolshevik party and was married to Vladimir Lenin.

Petr Nikolaevich Malyshev was a celebrated Soviet painter and graphic artist, best known for his evocative landscapes capturing the quiet poetry of nature across Russia. Born in Moscow on January 1, 1909, Malyshev lost his parents at an early age and was raised in an orphanage. His formative years were shaped by hardship—he began working in textile factories in the Moscow region in the 1920s. Yet, it was here that his interest in art first took root, attending a drawing circle at a knitting factory, where his talent did not go unnoticed.

Recognizing his promise, the factory committee sent Malyshev to study at the Moscow Art and Industry College in memory of 1905 (Izotekhnikum), where he studied from 1930 to 1936 under the guidance of renowned artist Nikolai Petrovich Krymov, who played a pivotal role in his artistic formation. He graduated with honors and went on to continue his education at the Moscow State Art Institute (1936–1944), where his teachers included Sergey Gerasimov, Isaac Grabar, Nikolai Ulyanov, and Alexander Osmerkin.

At the onset of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, Malyshev joined the militia. However, a few months later, he was recalled—alongside fellow students—to complete his studies. The Institute was evacuated to Samarkand, where he remained until 1944. That same year, he successfully defended his diploma and debuted in his first public art exhibition.

Returning to Moscow in 1945, Malyshev quickly integrated into the post-war Soviet art scene. He became a regular participant in major exhibitions—All-Union, Republican, and Moscow-based—and was a member of the Moscow Union of Artists. His personal exhibitions were held in Leningrad (1971, 1972) and Moscow (1973), and his works were also shown internationally, including in Beijing in 1958.

Malyshev’s signature genre was the lyrical landscape. He painted scenes of forests, rivers, and the Russian countryside with a quiet emotional depth. His most notable works include:

• Early Spring (1956)
• Evening on the River Kueksha (1966, Central Exhibition of the USSR)
• Forest Silence (1967, Kemerovo Regional Museum of Soviet Art)
• The Sun is Coming (1968, Far Eastern Art Museum)
• The Bridge (1972, Ministry of Culture RSFSR)
• Pond in Regina (1974, Ministry of Culture USSR)
• Quiet Morning (1974, MK USSR)
• Winter Fury (1974, CX USSR)
• Breath of Autumn (1974, CX USSR)
• Chicherinsky Forest (1975, MK USSR)
• A Foggy Day (1975, MK RSFSR)
• Molodnyak (1975, CX USSR)
• Last Snow (1975, MK RSFSR)