I'm not yours now, I'm Senich now: he took me to the council to listen to Lenin's speeches. (Khvostenko V.) Soviet Posters (1917-1941)

The artwork presents a densely populated scene unfolding under a stylized moonlit sky. The composition is divided into distinct zones, each contributing to a complex narrative. A vibrant, almost theatrical quality permeates the work, achieved through bold colors and exaggerated forms.
On the left side of the canvas, a man in traditional folk attire performs an energetic dance, his movements emphasized by the swirling patterns of his clothing. He appears isolated within a fenced-off area, suggesting both confinement and performance. The fence itself is rendered with a decorative, almost ornamental quality that contrasts with the implied restriction it represents.
To the right, a young woman in a patterned dress dances alongside a man in a military uniform. Their interaction seems less spontaneous than staged; their smiles appear fixed, lacking genuine warmth. Behind them, a group of onlookers gathers, their faces obscured or rendered as indistinct shapes, contributing to an atmosphere of observation and detachment. A building, possibly a government structure, is visible in the background, topped with a red flag – a clear symbol of Soviet authority.
The landscape itself is highly stylized; trees are reduced to simplified forms, and the moon hangs large and luminous, dominating the upper portion of the scene. The color palette is dominated by reds, greens, and yellows, creating a sense of heightened emotion and artificiality.
Subtexts within the work revolve around themes of tradition versus modernity, individual expression versus collective identity, and perhaps most significantly, the manipulation of personal narratives under an authoritarian regime. The title, Im not yours now, I’m Senich now: he took me to the council to listen to Lenins speeches, provides a crucial layer of interpretation. It suggests a loss of individual agency, a forced assimilation into a new ideological framework. The womans dance, seemingly joyful, could be interpreted as a performance of loyalty, a masking of internal conflict. The man in uniform acts as an enforcer of this new order, guiding the woman towards the council and Lenin’s speeches – symbols of political indoctrination.
The overall effect is one of unsettling juxtaposition: traditional folk culture presented alongside Soviet symbolism, individual expression seemingly subsumed by collective demands, and a veneer of celebratory festivity concealing underlying anxieties about personal freedom and identity. The artist uses visual cues to suggest that the scene is not merely a depiction of a festive gathering but rather a commentary on the complexities and potential contradictions inherent in the revolutionary process.