"Erik Bulatov, the Soviet-born artist who became a key figure in the underground movement of the 1970s and 80s, known for philosophical works combining Communist Party slogans with radiant, expansive landscapes, died in Paris on 9 November. His use of ideological texts layered over light-filled skies left space for multiple interpretations, enabling his works to be publicly displayed even in Vladimir Putin's heavily-censored Russia."
"Bulatov's most expensive work, the monumental 1975 canvas Glory to the CPSU, juxtaposing the phrase over a serene sky of blue and white clouds, evokes Russian iconography, Soviet symbolism, and Sots Art, the Soviet equivalent of Andy Warhol's Pop Art. The painting sold for $2.1m in London in 2008 at Phillips de Pury & Company, now Russian-owned Phillips. In 2025 The Art Newspaper Russia ranked Bulatov the most expensive living Russian artist, surpassing the former Sots Art duo Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid."
""Many people do some things for the state and earn the ability to do what they want for themselves," Bulatov told The New York Times in 1986 in a report on the underground art world, which described the strict controls the Soviet state exerted over exhibiting and exporting art, as well as the cracks beginning to appear under Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership."
Erik Bulatov was a Soviet-born artist who became a central figure among nonconformist painters in the 1970s and 80s. He layered Communist Party slogans over luminous, expansive landscapes, creating philosophical works open to multiple interpretations and able to be shown publicly despite censorship. He belonged to the Sretensky Group, a small circle that tested Soviet artistic dictates while gaining some freedom through illustrating children's books. His 1975 painting Glory to the CPSU juxtaposed slogan and serene sky and sold for $2.1m in 2008. In 2025 he ranked as the most expensive living Russian artist.
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