A Portrait of a Village Schoolteacher (Yelena Dubenetsakya, 1958).
Socialist Realism had fallen out of favour by the late 50s, and it was replaced by a return to a Neo-Impressionism. A good example of such would be the Tkachyov brothers. There was also a movement towards Realism, and both of these trends continue today.
As for the subject of this painting, it is a retreat from agitprop subjects, whilst still portraying the “great experiment”. The woman in the picture is not a “heroic milk-maid”, she is doing her duty in the provinces and her mixed feelings are clear in her expression. Nevertheless, many of my Russian friends say that not everything in the Soviet years was bad, ordinary life did go on, and people lived, loved, fought, made up, and fretted over their children, as in all times. That is not nostalgia for dictatorship, it is a feeling that the West has brought nothing but decadence and ghastly commercialism. I think that they have a point. A point to ponder…
Art and Faith 
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