Artists' Union of the USSR

The Artists' Union of the USSR was a creative union of the Soviet artists and art critics embracing the Republics of the Soviet Union. The Union was founded started in 1932 to supersede the AKhRR. The integral Union was instituted in 1957. By January 1, 1976, the Union included 14,538 members. It was officially disbanded at its 8th Congress in January 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with its rights distributed over the corresponding unions in the post-Soviet states. History Prior to the Artists' Union of the USSR, there existed the Union of Soviet Artists (Союз советских художников, Soyuz sovetskikh khudozhnikov), which was founded by Alexander Grigoriev in Moscow in spring 1930. It included Moscow and Leningrad artists along with former members of the AKhRR. The first exhibition of the Union of Soviet Artists was held on 15 April 1931 in Moscow at the exhibition hall of the co-operative society Khudozhnik. The Union of Soviet Artists ceased to exist in 1932 following a government decision.