Conditions of Production

Russian society is currently enduring a period of profound crisis. For the majority of the population, the ongoing war has been pushed into the background of everyday existence. Unlike the reality in Ukraine, the number of attacks on Russian cities remains minimal. This has granted the public a privileged position: the ability to ignore the war at stake and continue living within the narrow, state-sanctioned bounds of "acceptable" behavior.

In this climate, cultural institutions have reached a crossroads. Many have chosen active collaboration with the regime, transforming themselves into conduits for state propaganda. Others have retreated into deep self-censorship, purging their programs of politically charged themes and abandoning critical discourse. In a country where the machinery of repression is calibrated to crush any perceived dissent, this avoidance is a logical survival mechanism.

And yet, despite the risks, a persistent community of artists and grassroots initiatives continues to critique the regime. In such a perilous and surveilled environment, these artists are forced to innovate through codes of expression that communicate the critical message but also protect. These are "languages of the shadows," designed to communicate urgent truths without immediately exposing the messenger to the state's punitive apparatus.

“Conditions of Production” – still a working title – is an attempt to develop a new visual language that reflects the complex realities of making art under authoritarian pressure while insisting on the current situation's abnormality. It seeks to document not just the art itself, but the specific, strained environment that dictates expression.

Oleg Savunov is part of Issue 18 by Guest Editor Hank Willis Thomas.