File:Maslenitsa kustodiev.jpg

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Every Christian nation has its variety of Carnival, and Russia is no exception. The last week before Great Lent is called Maslenitsa. Its literal meaning is "Butter Week" although a more appropriate translation would be "Pancake Week". Maslenitsa has a dual origin: pagan and Christian. On the pagan side, Maslenitsa is a sun festival, celebrating the imminent end of the winter. On the Christian side, it is the last week before the Lent, when eating meat is forbidden, but pancakes (bliny) are still allowed and consumed in great quantities.

The Russian painter Boris Kustodiev (1878-1927) was fascinated with old, rural Russia which he felt was slowly but steadily disappearing. At the time of the Russian Revolution he created a series of paintings which were intended as a farewell to the provincial "Holy Russia" of yore. They are full of movement and warmth in the tradition of old Russian lubok, the Brueghels, and the Venetian vedutisti. The first of these paintings is now at the Tretyakov Gallery. Some other canvases from the series are on exhibit at the National Art Museum of Belarus[1], Russian Museum [2], and a private collection.[3]

The nominated work was painted by Kustodiev in 1919, at the height of the Russian Civil War. The painting seems to encompass a broad range of things associated with Russia, including snowy winter weather, a troika, and an Orthodox church with onion domes. On the right is a theatre with a wrestling poster. On the left is a pub advertising "cheese" and "caviar". I believe the reproduction of this bright, hectic painting encapsulates the festive mood of Maslenitsa as the finale of the long Russian winter, thus significantly improving our article about this holiday. The canvas was presented by Kustodiev to his friend, painter Isaak Brodsky. It still hangs in his memorial house in St. Petersburg.