Branches of the Union of Soviet Artists in the Middle Volga Region during the Post-War Period (1946 – 1953)

Using the examples of the Penza, Ulyanovsk, Kazan and Kuibyshev branches of the Union of Artists of the USSR, the author examines the diffi cult situation of the creative organization in the post-war USSR, and identifi es the problems that both the management of departments and individual members of the organization faced. The most common problems were incompetence and ineffective management of the board, lack of funding, personnel problems, as well as stagnation in creativity, lack of criticism and self-criticism. There were also accusations of being out of touch with “living Soviet modernity”. The author characterizes the situation as a crisis, traces its dynamics and examines the factors that led to it.