A crowded revolutionary interior unfolds around Vladimir Lenin in this historical painting by V. G. Sokolov. Armed workers, soldiers, and Red Guards gather inside a tense improvised headquarters, exchanging papers, listening carefully, and awaiting instructions during the dramatic days of the October Revolution. Rifles lean against coats and chairs while figures press closely around the table where Lenin sits, calm and concentrated amid the confusion surrounding him.
This Soviet postcard reproduces the painting V. I. Lenin at Smolny During the October Days of 1917 (В. И. Ленин в Смольном в октябрьские дни 1917 года), completed in 1930. The original work was associated with the Central Museum of V. I. Lenin, one of the principal Soviet museums dedicated to revolutionary history and Lenin’s political legacy. Judging by the typography and postcard design, this edition most likely dates from the early 1960s, a period when Soviet publishers widely reproduced historical paintings for museums, schools, cultural institutions, and ordinary collectors.
Smolny Institute in Petrograd — today’s Saint Petersburg — served as the Bolshevik headquarters during the seizure of power in October 1917. In Soviet visual culture, scenes showing Lenin at Smolny became among the most recognizable revolutionary images, repeatedly reproduced in paintings, posters, school illustrations, and museum postcards throughout the twentieth century.
The subdued colors and slightly grainy printing texture are characteristic of Soviet postcard reproductions of the era. Rather than polished commercial printing, many Soviet museum postcards preserved the atmosphere of archival art albums and educational reproductions.
Archive Notes
— V. G. Sokolov (В. Г. Соколов) created the painting in 1930.
— V. I. Lenin at Smolny During the October Days of 1917 depicts revolutionary headquarters activity during the Bolshevik seizure of power.
— Smolny Institute in Petrograd became the operational center of the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution.
— The postcard was issued for the Central Museum of V. I. Lenin.
— The edition most likely dates from the early 1960s.
— Soviet historical postcards often reproduced revolutionary paintings for educational and commemorative purposes.
— Additional keywords: Bolsheviks, Petrograd, Soviet historical painting, revolutionary headquarters, Red Guards, Lenin iconography, Soviet museum postcard, October Revolution, archival print culture.
