Oskar Rabin

Oskar Rabin (1928–2018) was a leading figure of the Soviet nonconformist art movement, best known for co-founding the unofficial artists' group that staged the famous 1974 'Bulldozer Exhibition' in Moscow. His raw, expressionistic paintings depicted the bleakness of Soviet life—barracks, vodka bottles, newspapers, and grim urban landscapes—serving as quiet acts of defiance against socialist realism. Stripped of Soviet citizenship in 1978, he spent the latter decades of his life in Paris, where he continued painting until his death.