Russian Constructivism - The Style of Revolution… and Status Quo

1917 marked an unprecedented change in the social fabric of Russia, as people from all walks of life witnessed the end of 300 years of Tsarist rule in February, the creation of women’s right to vote in March, and the construction of the world’s first communist state following a coup in October (Fitzpatrick, 2017). By the end of 1917, revolutionary sentiment was ubiquitous across Russian society, and the art world, this sentiment coalesced into a movement for the new era - Constructivism.

Figure 1 - Rechevik. Stikhi (Orator. Verse) by Aleksandr Rodchenko (1929)

Naum Guabo, a founder of the Constructivist movement claimed in the Realist Manifesto (1922) that “war and revolution have confronted us with new forms of life” (Witek, 2022), demonstrating the galvanizing impact that the revolutions of 1917 had had on the movement, which grew in popularity alongside Lenin’s vision for a communist Russia. At the core of Constructivism was a desire to stray away from artistic expression and towards a construction-focused method of creation, in which artists became engineers and every piece was intended to be mass-produced and further the industrial innovation of the new age (Hillegas, 2019).

Figure 2 - Oppressed Peoples of the Whole World by Gustav Klutsis (1924

Constructivism aimed to “challenge the legitimacy of established traditions” (Hillegas, 2019), an ideal clearly shared by the society that had just overthrown its autocratic system in an attempt to gain democracy. Both artists and citizens felt that deferring to the past would hinder the future, and championed the importance of industrialisation and objectivity in the new society. Constructivist Alexi Gan insisted that art, as it currently existed, could not “systematize the feelings of a revolutionary movement” (Willette, 2020), and constructivism clearly positioned itself as the visual language of this new revolutionary era. This revolutionary style gained Lenin’s approval as he established the VkhUTEMAS art school in Moscow in 1921, which aimed to teach students to “apply Constructivism to the Revolution and its needs” (Willette, 2020), a goal they adopted with enthusiasm.

Figure 3 - Beat the Whites with the Red Edge by El Lissitzky (1919), a poster that encourages support for the Red Army (the Bolsheviks) against the White Movement (monarchists, conservatives, Bolshevik opponents)

With these aligned beliefs, it’s no wonder that Constructivism soon became the mouthpiece for Lenin’s government, increasingly used to communicate state-sponsored messages to the general public, such as these posters which urge workers to vote in re-elections (hands pointing up), or support the Red Army in the Russian Civil War. The use of bold colours like red, white, and black make the posters eye-catching and engaging to passers-by. The inclusion of photomontage was also a key component of constructivist posters, as it was used to create a sense of “immediacy and objectivity” (The Art Story, 2025) that was believed to be lost through painting. These posters served to grab the attention of viewers and eventually came to associate Communism and Russia under Lenin with a sense of constant action and change.

Figure 4 - Rusakov Worker's Club, designed by Konstantin Melnivok (1927-8)

Constructivism also dominated the architectural scene of Russia for a brief period. In keeping with the anti-authoritarian roots of the movement, many Workers Clubs and housing units were built. Konstantin Melnikov (a pioneer of the movement) was known for creating designs that encouraged “communized lifestyles” and played with “overstated geometries and convention-breaking massing arrangements” (Langdon, 2017). His designs matched the ideals of constructivism, notably by ensuring that workers were typically the intended audience or inhabitants for each building, something that coalesced with the idea that all art should be accessible to the public.

Figure 5 - Gosplan Garage, designed by Konstantin Melnikov (1936)

However, while this movement is rooted in revolution, there is no denying that it eventually became the art style for an authoritarian government. Sheila Fitzpatrick notes that “the Bolsheviks had established a dictatorship with the intention of ruling over the society and also transforming it” (Fitzpatrick, 2017), highlighting that while there may have been revolutionary intentions in these actions, they were still, effectively and fundamentally, a dictatorship. This makes Constructivism a confusing movement to reconcile, as it held in equal parts the desire to challenge tradition, and the desire to support an increasingly autocratic communist state. Additionally, since Constructivism itself was cast aside in the 1930s in favour of neo-classicism (National Gallery of Art, 2025) and socialist realism (Newman, 2024) under Stalin, its short life makes it hard to fully evaluate the stance of the artists that pioneered it. Perhaps the movement would have come to rebel against the autocracy, perhaps it would have confidently contextualised Lenin and Stalin’s regimes as part of a necessary struggle towards true communism. All that can be said for certain is that Constructivism holds the unique position of being both the art style of the revolution and the status quo.

Sources:

Fitzpatrick, S. (2017). The Russian Revolution. Oxford University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/portsmouth-ebooks/reader.action?docID=5224615&ppg=1

Hillegas, L. (2019, January 4th). Constructivism Brought the Russian Revolution to the Art World. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-constructivism-brought-russian-revolution-art

Langdon, David. (2017, August 3). Spotlight: Konstantin Melnikov. ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/771159/spotlight-konstantin-melnikov

National Gallery of Art. (2025). Travels Across Russia: Avant-Garde Architecture in Moscow. NGA. https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/features/architecture-moscow.html

Newman, J. (2024, November 29). Socialist Realism: Stalin's Control of Art in the Soviet Union. The Collector. https://www.thecollector.com/soviet-realism-stalin-control/

The Art Story. (2025). Constructivism. The Art Story. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/constructivism/

Witek, D. (2022, January 26). Understanding Russian Constructivist Art. Artsper. https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/understanding-russian-constructivist-art/

Willette, J. (2020, March 13th). Constructivism and the Avant-Garde. ArtHistoryUnstuffed. https://arthistoryunstuffed.com/constructivism-and-the-avant-garde/

Figures:

Figure 1 - Witek, D. (2022, January 26). Understanding Russian Constructivist Art. Artsper. https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/understanding-russian-constructivist-art/

Figure 2 - Hillegas, L. (2019, January 4th). Constructivism Brought the Russian Revolution to the Art World. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-constructivism-brought-russian-revolution-art

Figure 3 - Newman, J. (2024, November 29). Socialist Realism: Stalin's Control of Art in the Soviet Union. The Collector. https://www.thecollector.com/soviet-realism-stalin-control/

Figure 4 - Langdon, David. (2017, August 3). Spotlight: Konstantin Melnikov. ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/771159/spotlight-konstantin-melnikov

Figure 5 - National Gallery of Art. (2025). Travels Across Russia: Avant-Garde Architecture in Moscow. NGA. https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/features/architecture-moscow.html