Vladimir Fedorovich Shtranikh (Russian: Штраних Владимир Фёдорович Born: October 1 [O.S. 19 September], 1888, Tsaritsyno, Moscow Governorate Died: February 28, 1981 (aged 92), Moscow, USSR was a Soviet painter, poster artist, stage designer, educator Genre: Landscape Education: Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture He was named People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1975 and People's Artist of the USSR in 1978, and was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR in 1959.^[1][2][3]

Shtranikh was born into a family of Smolensk origin tracing its lineage to Livonian knights, and his amateur-painter grandfather introduced him to the fundamentals of art.^[4] He spent his childhood in Smolensk and in 1900 enrolled at the Imperial Stroganov Central Higher Industrial and Applied Arts College (now Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry), where he studied under Sergei Vinogradov, Konstantin Pervukhin, and Dmitry Shcherbinovsky.^[5] After graduating in 1907, he joined the Bolshoi Theatre as a decorator’s assistant, meeting Konstantin Korovin—whom he regarded as his principal mentor.^[6][7][8] In 1909, while continuing his work at the Bolshoi, he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, studying with Apollinary Vasnetsov, Konstantin Korovin, Abram Arkhipov, Sergey Malyutin, and Leonid Pasternak, and was influenced by Vladimir Mayakovsky.^[9][10][11]

After completing his studies in 1916, Shtranikh was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army as an artilleryman, served at the front, and was awarded the Cross of St. George for bravery; he was promoted to junior artillery officer in March 1917.^[12][13] A supporter of the October Revolution, he embraced new Soviet artistic forms.^[14]In 1918, while visiting family in Smolensk, he remained there and assumed leadership roles—chairman of the Art Council of the Smolensk provincial art workers’ union, stage designer for the Smolensk Theatre, and artistic director of the Proletkult art studio—where he taught future artists such as Konstantin Dorokhov, Michael Khazanovsky, and Nikolay Padalitsyn.^[15][16][17]

Shtranikh returned to Moscow in 1922 and emerged as a leading painter of the era, gaining particular renown for industrial landscapes and naval themes—depicting ship hulls, floating docks, and maritime life—and for his poster work, including distinctive drawn fonts featured in Soviet newspapers and magazines.^[18][19]An active exhibitor from 1912, he took part in the 3rd Ryazan Painting Exhibition (1919), the 2nd State Exhibition in Smolensk (1921), the Exhibition of 22 Artists (1927), “Poster in the Service of the Five-Year Plan” (Moscow, 1932), and “Public Education of the USSR” in London (1932); his first major solo show was held in Smolensk in 1959.^[20][21] He was a member of the Artists' Union of the USSR 1937 and was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR in 1959.^[22][23][24] Among his later students in Moscow was the painter Vera Gutkina.^[25]

Shtranikh died on 28 February 1981 in Moscow and was buried at Vostryakovskoye Cemetery.^[26][27]

Shtranikh’s work is characterized by rhythmic, energetic brushwork and vibrant color planes; for example, his painting “Autumn in the South Borders of the Country” (1963–1967) conveys industrial dynamism through tight, elastic strokes and rhythmic color harmonies.^[28] He also painted lyrical scenes of Russian nature and embodied socialist-realist principles in depictions of labor and national achievements.^[29] His paintings are held in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Smolensk State Museum-Reserve, and in private collections domestically and abroad.^[30][31][32]

Works by Shtranikh are held in the permanent collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), and the Smolensk State Historical and Architectural Art Museum-Reserve, as well as in other Russian museums and in private collections worldwide.^[33][34]

• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (13 September 1968) ^[35]

• People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1 July 1975) ^[36][37]

• People’s Artist of the USSR (18 October 1978) ^[38][39][40]

• Corresponding Member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1959) ^[41]