GONE WITH THE WIND OF REVOLUTION…

Exhibition of works by the Soviet artist, poet, journalist Vasiliy Belyaev (1901-1942)

ONE OF THE FORTS OF SAhYL-SYhYY. STROD’S YURTA (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

...The winter was unusually harsh even for these places, in the first ten days of January 1923 the average temperature was forty-seven point nine degrees of frost, in the second - two degrees lower. At night, the mercury column dropped to the fifty-eight-degree mark.

In such frosts, the wrist watch stops, because the lubricant freezes in them, and with complete calm, under a clear starry sky, a person hears a mysterious quiet noise, similar to the splash of foliage or the rustle of grains being poured - the rustle of ice crystals, into which the moisture that comes out with breath instantly turns air.

The Yakuts call such a sound “the whisper of the stars” - poetically and at the same time with a feeling of closeness of other, inhuman spheres of life emerging in this cosmic cold ...”.
Leonid Yuzefovich. "Winter road. General A.N. Pepelyaev and the anarchist I. Ya. Strod in Yakutia in 1922-1923” (2015)

AGAINST PEPELYAEV WARRIORS! (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

... They clench their fingers on a faithful rifle
A deadly whistle over the head of lead
Suddenly falls awkwardly on his back
A communist slain by the enemy's bullet.
Blood flows from the wound, but victory
He, dying, sees before him:
“Not a step back! Hit the enemy, chase!

Lead the squad, commander, to battle!
Let the dead with live bandits smash:
You take it upon yourself to build a fortress out of bodies,
May a dead heart and my body
Lethal bullets of the enemy will be delayed ... "
Platon Oyunsky “Covenants of the Eagle”

FEDOR SADYKOV - HEROIC PROTECTOR OF SAhYL-SYhYY IN 1923 (1923) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

SAhYL SYhYY. BEHIND MANURE (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

V.K. RASTORGUEV - HEAD OF SUPPLIES IN THE AMGA RED GARRISON IN 1923 (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

SAhYL SYhYY YURTA (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

P.I. SEDALISHEV - PARTICIPANT OF THE CIVIL WAR, COLLECTIVIZATION WORKER (1933) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

MEETING WITH IVAN STROD (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

“… Bullets clanged on frozen bodies, tore off fingers, pieces of meat, hit in the head. From the impact of the bullet, the head was splitting, and a gray ossified brain was visible inside ... ".
Ivan Strod. “In the Yakut taiga” (1928)

Ivan Yakovlevich Strod (1894-1937) - Soviet military leader; participant of the First World War (full St. George Knight); participant of the Civil War in Siberia (one of several military men of the RSFSR - three times holder of the highest award of Soviet Russia, the Order of the Red Banner, and holder of the personal Red Banner Order of Yakutia). A well-known Soviet writer-memoirist. Victim of the repressions of 1937-1938.

NIKOLAY IVANOVICH NYURBINTSEV - AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT OF THE CIVIL WAR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

RED LAZARETTE (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

FEDOR PAVLOVICH BOLTUO - RED PARTISAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY COUNCIL (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

HERO OF THE CIVIL WAR - GAVRIIL EGOROV (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Gavril Vasilievich Egorov (1879-1942). Born in the village of Tanda, Bayagantayskiy ulus (now Ust-Aldanskiy ulus) in a poor family. Member of the VKP(b). For the first time he got acquainted with revolutionary ideas at the Bodaibo gold-mining mines, here he studied labor perseverance and solidarity. For participation in the Lena revolutionary events of 1912, he was sentenced to 6 years of hard labor. In 1918 he joined the Red Army detachment of A.S. Rydzinsky, took part in the organization of Soviet power in the uluses. During the period of Kolchak, he was in underground work. After the fall of the power of the Kolchakovshina, he served in the garrison of Yakutsk. In 1922-1923 he took an active part in the defeat of counter-revolutionary uprisings.

G.V. Egorov - a participant in the defeat of the Pepelyaev army. He distinguished himself in the battle for the liberation of the Amginskiy Settlement (Sloboda), repulsing a machine gun from the enemies and supporting the detachment's offensive with fire. For this feat he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the end of the Civil war, he became an active fighter for the implementation of the cultural revolution. On his initiative, more than 20 school buildings were built in the republic. The name of Gavril Vasilievich Egorov was given to the state farm in the Ust-Aldan region, many schools of the republic, in the village Borogontsy a bronze bust of the hero was installed.

RED PARISAN IN INTELLIGENCE (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Through the bushes, over the rocky boulders
There is no way - and the twilight is blacker ...
Wild bonfires stand on end
Above the gathering of branches and stones.
Axes who did not know bushes
And streams that do not remember lips,
You are touched by the bitterness of the poison:
Stuffy cough, pipe roll call.
Where thunderstorms flew in thunder
Smoky convoys stretched out ...
Over the swamps where teals sleep
Not the sedge got up, but the bayonets ...
Clots of stearin under the candles
Groves and fields on a three-page layout ...
Circulars and compasses

The headquarters are overflowing to the edges ...
Scale accurate calculations
(Lesson learned by heart) ...
Companies stretched out at three versts,
And the flag moves ...
And move in circles
Platoon by platoon ...
Hidden behind the hillock
Batteries in bushes, in a meadow
Hurricane fired ...
And funnel by funnel followed
A mole digs - and must dig again ...
This is the front -
And, therefore, fidgets
There is nothing to lie on the boxes ...
This is the front -
And, therefore, to failure
We must hide, watch and wait ...
Eduard Bagritsky. “Front” (1923)

G.N.VASILIEV - PARTICIPANT IN THE DEFEAT OF THE AMBUSH AT LAKE KHOKHOTCHOI IN 1922 (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

RED PARTISANS (1933) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

DMITRY PETROV - THE RED'S GUIDE DURING THE YEARS OF THE CIVIL WAR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

NIKOLAY AMMOSOV - PARTICIPANT OF THE CIVIL WAR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

... At the very beginning of the campaign from Petropavlovsk, Strod's detachment came across Artemyev's ambush. A good knowledge of the numerous roads in the taiga by the local guide of the Strod detachment saved the Red Army from direct skirmishes with the enemy and with possible losses in manpower. They deceived the experienced Tungus hunters who were in Artemyev's detachment and continued on their way to the Amga by roundabout ways. Another tragedy on the road was averted thanks to the warning and advice of Nikolai Gavrilievich Ammosov, a member of the village council, who pointed out alas Sahyl Syhyy as a possible place of defense. Strong deciduous houses located in alas were useful for the construction of temporary fortifications using balbakhs (manure) and other improvised means.

Strod later wrote: “Without such shelters, we would have been killed in one day by the Whites who occupied the neighboring forest edges. In Saһyl Syһyy, the manure we needed were enough”. Thus, we can conclude that this act of a simple Yakut, who lived not far from Sahyl Syhyy, played an invaluable role in saving the detachment. In addition, he and the neighbors Karmanovs helped in providing the Strod’s people with meat, products and various household items and utensils. His close relative Ammosov D.P., the Yakut Susanin, led one company under the command of one of the lieutenant colonels far into the taiga, as a result of which this unit could not take part in the decisive attack of the whites.
In addition, in 1920 Nikolai Gavrilievich saved a wounded Red Army soldier by dragging him across the thin ice of the river Amga on a sled. Ammosov died in 1943.

AMGA FROM CHEPCHELGAN'S SIDE (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

I.I. KONSTANTINOV - PARTICIPANT OF THE CIVIL WAR, CHAIRMAN OF THE NOTARSKY SUPERVISORY BOARD (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

NIKOLAY BORISOV - THE HERO OF KHOKHOTCHOI (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

HOUSES OF THE ABAGA DEFENDERS (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

S. KUTURGUIN – PARTICIPANT OF THE DEFENSE OF ABAGA (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Sofron Evgrafovich Kuturguin (1887-1956). In 1922 he was elected the first chairman of the Sulgachinsky National Council. During the war years, a fighter of the red units of Kotrus and Strod. In 1926 he was elected chairman of the Amga Executive Committee.
Sofron Evgrafovich is a legendary personality of his time. Born on March 28, 1887 in the village of I Bologur, Booturskiy ulus, in a poor family. Since childhood, he worked for the rich peple. He actively participated in the formation of Soviet power, agitated the poor to the collective farm, dispossessed the rich. At the age of 25 he became the chairman of the revolutionary committee in the village I Bologur and Ozhulun.

Then he worked on the creation of a revolutionary committee in the 1st Amginsky ulus. Working as chairman of the ulus revolutionary committee and chairman of the district council, he distributed land to the peasants. In 1920, the first chairman of the Sulgachinsky district, Sofron Kuturguin, together with I.P. Mikhailov (Kharachaan) and I.I. Konstantinov, created the Syrdyk commune. In the fall of 1921 a Civil war began. Amginsky ulus becomes the arena of tragic events. The village of Sulgachy turned out to be at the crossroads of both red and white roads. In 1921, in the village Sulgachi was a detachment of red fighters under the command of K. M. Kotrus. Many became fighters of the Kotrus detachment, including S. E. Kuturguin. After the war (1921 - 1922) the “Syrdyk” communards returned to their home and set about restoring the economy destroyed by the war.

In 1924, on the initiative of I.P. Mikhailov, I.I. Konstantinov and S.E. Kuturguin, the “Tennebil” artel was organized on the basis of the “Syrdyk” commune, created from 13 farms. The head of this artel was S. E. Kuturguin. But peacetime did not last long. In 1925, a gang of Artemyev and Bossoyko, consisting of 160 people, gathered strength in Ust-Maya. To defeat it, a detachment of 200 Red fighters left Yakutsk under the command of I. Ya. Strod. Members of the “Syrdyk” and “Tennebil” communes become fighters of the Strod detachment.

The government of the republic to prevent bloodshed and peace negotiations, created a commission of 7 people. The long and persistent negotiations ended on May 8 in the village Sulgachy by the conclusion of a truce. The participants in the bilateral negotiations established a memorial tethering post in the Kektieyi area as a sign of the truce. Since then, this river is called Tupsuu (truce). By this the Civil war in the village Sulgachy ended. The civilian population began to settle down again. Sofron Evgrafovich Kuturguin was a member of the Communist Party all his life and worked in the Party-Soviet and economic bodies. He made a significant contribution to the development of the Amga region, working in various management positions, including as the chairman of the regional council of the Amga region.

KIRILL DYACHKOVSKY - MEMBER OF DEFENSE OF ABAGA (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

PARTISAN OF VILYI (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

TYPE OF THE FORMER WHITE BANDIT. AMMOSOVKOE VILLAGE (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

TYPE OF THE FORMER WHITE BANDIT. ALEXANDROVSKOE VILLAGE (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

SIVTSEV VASILIY SAVVICH - GUIDE OF THE SHATAEV'S DETACHMENT (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

M.F. YAKOVLEV - MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF THE KOLKHOZ IN SUNTAR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

YAKUT TAIGA (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

AT THE KEMPENDYAISKY SALT SOURCE (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

UNLOADING AT THE PIER OF SUNTAR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

MINE IN ALDAN (1932/1933) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

OKHLOPKOVA ANNA - WORKER FROM GOLDEN ALDAN by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

GOLD MINING IN ALDAN (1937) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

POPOVA ULYANA - WORKER FROM GOLDEN ALDAN (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

ALDAN. RINSE OF THE ROCK (1933) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

ULYANA NIKOLAEVA IS A LABOR WORKER by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

DMITRY VASILIEVICH PROTOPOPOV - CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD, MEMBER OF THE YAKUT CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

CARP BEATER INTO THE SEINE by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

SELIGDAR. HYDROELECTRIC STATION (1933) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

YAKUT KOMSOMOL MINERS by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

AT THE ALAAS (1939) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

NEW HOUSE - NEW LIFE by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

THIS IS HOW PEOPLE LIVED BEFORE THE REVOLUTION, BUT SOMEWHERE PEOPLE STILL LIVE THE SAME WAY (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

KOMMUNARKA (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

AT THE SEPARATOR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

FEDORA KORNILOVA - CONSULTANT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RSFSR (1935) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

MARIA BORISOVA – ACTIVIST, HEAD OF THE FEMALE ORGANIZATION FROM MASTAKH (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

BY THE FIREPLACE (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

TROFIM NIKOLAEV - WORKER OF THE KOLKHOZ “RED WHIP” by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

OLD MAN KARMANOV - YURTA'S OWNER IN SAHYL - SYhYY (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

EGOR NIKOLAEV - SECRETARY OF THE KOMSOMOL ORGANIZATION (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

YAKUT YURTA DURING WINTER (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

ANNA ATLASOVA FROM THE ABAGA SCHOOL (1932) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

MEGEZHEKSKIY PIONEERS (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

SCHOOL GIRLS (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

EGOR NOVIKOV WITH A VIOLIN, WHICH HE IMPROVED BY HIMSELF by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

GEORGIY TURALYSOV ARTIST OF THE YAKUTSK THEATER (1397) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Turalysov Georgiy Mikhailovich – artist, scenographer. The founder of the Yakut theater and scenery painting. People's Artist of the YaASSR since 1946, Honored Worker of Arts of the RSFSR since 1957. Born in the II Meitsky estate of the Olekminsky region. In 1929 he graduated from VKHUTEMAS (Higher Artistic and Creative Workshops), later renamed VKHUTEIN (Higher Artistic and Technical Institute), theatrical and decorative department of the Faculty of Painting. In 1929-1930 - director and artist of the national troupe at the Yakutsk theater. In 1930-1964 - Chief Designer of the Yakutsk State Music and Drama Theater. In 1964-1970 - taught at the Yakutsk Art School.

Decorations and costumes on the stage of the Yakutsk Drama Theater:
“Red Shaman” P. Oyunsky, “Bolshevik Vasilшy” P. Oyunsky, “Love” A. Sofronov, “Breaking the Nets” by Amma Achchygya, “Brothers” by S. Efremov, “Red Shaman” by P. Oyunsky, “Ayaal”, “ Blacksmith Kyukyur”, “Saisary” Suorun Omolloon, “Manchaary” V. Protodyakonov, "Nyurgun Bootur Swift" by M. Zhirkov and G. Litinsky, “Man with a gun” by N. Pogodin, “At the bottom” by M. Gorky, “Mud of life” A. Sofronov, “The Cherry Garden” by A. Chekhov, “Evil Spirit” by N. Neustroev, “Dowry” by A. Ostrovsky, “Armored Train 14-69” by Vs. Ivanov, “Lookut and Nyurgusun” by T. Smetanin, “Minor” by D. Fonvizin, “Freeloader” by I. Turgenev, “Talents and admirers” by A. Ostrovsky, “On behalf of the Yakuts” by Sofr. Danilov, “Sygy Kyrynaastyr” by I. Izbekov - Uustaakh, “The Inspector General” by N. Gogol, “Cunning and Love” by J. B. Moliere, “Scapin's Tricks” by F. Schiller, “Othello” by V. Shakespeare, “Valley of Cranes” by I. Gogolev. In 1958 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

KIRILL GOGOLEV - DIRECTOR OF THE YAKUT THEATER (1937) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

ANASTASIA ERMOLAEVA - ACTRESS OF THE YAKUT NATIONAL THEATER by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

GRIGORIEVA IS ONE OF THE BEST DANCE PERFORMERS ON YSYAKH IN SUNTAR (1931) by Belyaev Vasily PavlovichThe National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Credits: Story

On the eve of two large-scale anniversaries - the 120th anniversary of the artist's birth and on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - the National Fine Arts Museum of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) presents a unique exhibition of works by the Soviet artist, poet, journalist Vasiliy Pavlovich Belyaev (1901-1942). The main event in the history of Yakutia in the twentieth century was its acquisition of statehood in 1922 in the form of an autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - YaASSR. The republic has become an effective instrument for building a new life, modernizing the entire economic, socio-political and cultural life of the population. But how it became so, how many human destinies were laid on the creation of a new reality, only history and its non-stop, like an impartial pendulum way, knows. The graphic sheets of Vasiliy Belyaev, capturing the fateful moments of the fratricidal Civil war in Yakutia, the faces and images of people of that era, as well as the subsequent life of the Soviet republic, seem to be scorched by those events - behind the external calm-narrative nature of the works, one can feel a deep tragic anguish, people who have become so close and dear to him for a year and a half of stay and work in a distant harsh land.

By 1917, Yakutia, being an integral part of the Russian Empire and obeying the general laws of socio-political, socio-economic development, joined the general revolutionary stream of the country's modernization. The history of the Civil war in Russia is not only the history of the confrontation between the Whites and the Reds, but also the history of the self-organization of the people with weapons in their hands, who defended their interests in the form of an insurrection in the conditions of an armed struggle for power between the Bolsheviks and their opponents. The result of the Civil war was the colossal disasters, suffered by the peoples of the destroyed Russian Empire. The ideological split of the people led to the fact that people, who spoke the same language looked at each other as enemies. Although the victory was won by the Reds, “ours and not ours” suffered from the Civil war. This once again confirms the truth, that there are no winners in a Civil war. Everyone had their own truth, everyone fought “for Russia”, “for the Motherland”…

The graphic works of Vasiliy Belyaev “snatched” and captured the period from 1931 to 1933 from the life of the newly arisen Soviet Yakutia, there are sheets dated 1937. And even such a short stay in the new republic showed the artist, how bloody and tragic were the memories of the events of the Civil War in the northern region, how irreparable and bleeding was the wound and grief of the Yakut people for the losses, that occurred during the battle, where there were no strangers and “ours”, where a brother killed a brother, where the power was “painted” now in White, now in Red, where there was no truth or untruth, but only an incomprehensible, obscure timelessness. The author's creative period, dedicated to Yakutia, included two major cycles “Civil War in Yakutia” and “Soviet Yakutia”, in addition there is a whole gallery of portraits of Yakutians of different occupations and professions, written with great love and respect for the portrayed. If we talk about the very personality of the artist - Vasiliy Pavlovich Belyaev studied at the Stroganov School and at the Vkhutemas (1918-1921), graduated from the department of archeology and art history of Moscow State University. Participated in the first Russian art exhibition in Berlin (1922), art exhibitions “Ten Years of the Red Army” (1928), “15 Years of the Red Army” (1933), “Soviet Far East” (1928). In 1931, two personal exhibitions of Belyaev took place in Moscow, first at the Vsekohudozhnik, then at the writers' club. He made several creative trips across the Arctic: in 1929 on the “Alexandr Sibiryakov” icebreaker, in 1930 - on the “Malygin” icebreaker. Participated in the hunting expedition of the Sovtorgflot. He made creative trips to Altai (1924), to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (1925), Transcaucasia (1926), Buryat-Mongolia and the Far East (1928).

In Yakutia, the artist worked by the assignment of the Local Central Executive Committee in 1930-1931 for a year and a half. As a result of the trip, numerous exhibitions of Belyaev's works were held in the cities of Yakutia, Moscow and Leningrad. At the same time, Belyaev wrote and published the poem “Khokhotchoi” (another name for the work “Poem about the death of seventeen”. Published in Yakutsk in 1932). Based on the results of numerous trips around the country, he made several series of works. In the mid-30s he made several creative expeditions across Soviet Asia. Master of book graphics - illustrated books by N. Shpanov, M. Prishvin and others. Vasiliy Belyaev was called one of the pioneers of Soviet art-reportage. The artist's works are kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Museum, museums in Ryazan, Vologda, Kaluga, Ashgabat. Member of the Great Patriotic War, he disappeared near Stalingrad during the war.

The most important author's cycle “Civil War in Yakutia” is similar to a war correspondent's reportage. The cycle contains about 15 graphic works, where the artist impartially reproduces the events of the fratricidal war in front of the viewer. The most iconic works from this cycle are dedicated to the bloody battle at Sahyl Syhyy, where the author, through the veil of time, managed to reproduce the deep confrontation between two iconic personalities of the Civil War - the White Guard, General A.N. Pepelyaev and the Soviet military leader I. Ya. Strod. The impartiality of the captured events, characteristic of the author, is in fact full of inner dynamism and intensity. The artist, as if from the scene of hostilities, tells us about the multi-day confrontation that began on February 13, 1923, when the Whites under the command of General Anatoly Pepelyaev besieged the Red Army detachment of Ivan Strod in the Yakut winter place of Sahyl Syhyy. Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that this drama with the participation of several hundred people reflected the entire Civil War with its originality, horror and heroism. One of the brightest in emotional terms can be called the work “Against Pepelyaev warriors!” (1932). Like a military poster or a photographic frame, the sheet captured a Red soldier, taking aim at the enemy. A lot is read in the look of a warrior - hatred for the enemy, determination, appeal. Creating his works, Vasiliy Belyaev remains faithful to the principle of journalism - the accuracy of conveying events is true, therefore, many works, especially from the series “Civil War in Yakutia” are similar to essays - there is some deliberate etude, the artist conveys only the chronicle of what he saw or heard. Thus, the work “A Meeting with Ivan Strod” (1932), at first glance, is calm and not very dynamic, in fact, full of inner intensity and expression. It is known that, defending their positions in a multi-day battle, the soldiers of the Red Army, led by their commander, built barricades from the corpses of their fellow soldiers (before that, barricades were built from manure for several days). The picture, in turn, outwardly captured only a composition, where there are figures of talking people and figures of lying warriors. ... Machine-gun fire gradually destroyed the dung walls, so the Reds had to build barricades from the frozen corpses of people and horses. Later, Strod wrote in his memoirs: “The bullets clinked against the frozen bodies, tore off fingers, pieces of meat, and hit the head. From the impact of the bullet, the head was splitting, and a gray ossified brain was visible inside ... “. It should be noted, that the cycle “Civil War in Yakutia” by Vasiliy Belyaev is one of the few works of art, dedicated to this difficult historical period.

The cycle “Soviet Yakutia” is interesting by its own way. One of the brightest works in this cycle is the sheet “Egor Nikolaev - Secretary of the Komsomol Organization” (1931). The author captures a very young, determined 17-year-old member of the Komsomol. The artist seems to be drawing a young, newly born Yakutia. A look, full of courage and strength, a young, but strong-willed face - everything says that the author wants only a bright, serene future for the harsh land that is so beloved by him. Portrait images deserve special attention. They have a certain purity, the model's trust in the author is felt and, in turn, the master's respect for the person being portrayed, with all this, the artist managed to preserve a certain art-reportation and posterity in the transfer of the depicted. The artist's experiences for the fate of the young republic in persons, boundless respect for history, national characteristics, native language (many inscriptions were made by the author in the Yakut language in Latin letters) - all this is vividly and fully reflected in the portrait gallery of Soviet Yakutia, depicting teachers, pioneers, schoolchildren, workers of collective farm, labor workers, artists and theater directors, former partisans and soldiers… From these graphic works - amazingly clean, dear faces, full of hopes for a new life, look at us. These are the works – “Ulyana Nikolaeva is a labor worker”, “Kirill Gogolev - director of the Yakut theater”, “Egor Novikov with a violin, improved by him”, “Anna Atlasova from the Abaga school”, “Carp beater into the seine”, “Maria Borisova - activist, head of the female organization from Mastakh”,“Megezhekskiy pioneers”, “Georgiy Turalysov - artist of the Yakut theater”,“Kommunarka ”, “Okhlopkova Anna - worker from golden Aldan” and many others. In addition to portraits, the author also sketched the working days of Yakutia – “Unloading at the pier of Suntar” and at the “Kempendyaisky salt source”. The last work is of particular interest - as a kind of surreal dream, the artist shows hard workdays, where the line between reality and dream is erased. The worker sees like a phased dream all his hard work in the mine. This work is somewhat different from the general number of author's works, which speaks of the artist's creative development, his search for new themes and ways of expressing them.

The National Fine Arts Museum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) presents this unique material on the museum site and on the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites