The Manege Affair was an episode when
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
together with other
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
leadership visited an anniversary art exhibition "30 Years of the Moscow Artists' Union" at
Moscow Manege
The Moscow Manege (, ) is an oblong building along the west side of Manezhnaya Square, Moscow, Manege Square, which was cleared in the 1930s and lies adjacent to Red Square. It is the site of Moscow Design Museum since 2012.
Designed by Spani ...
on December 1, 1962. It resulted in Khruschev's angry rant against "filth, decadence and sexual deviations" he saw along with the traditional works of
Socialist Realism. After the visit, he arranged a campaign to tighten the grip of the Party over culture. This has been described as the beginning of the end of the
Cultural Thaw in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. The episode is covered in detail in the book ''Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union'' by Paul Sjeklocha and Igor Mead and in other publications.
Individual encounters
Speaking to
Ely Bielutin, the exhibition host, Khrushchev said:
["Манежный скандал" Хрущева]
(in Russian)
Don't you know how to paint? My grandson will paint it better! What is this? Are you men or damned pederasts!? How can you paint like that? Do you have a conscience?
That's it, Belyutin, I'm telling you as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers: The Soviet people don't need all this. I'm telling you! Forbid! Prohibit everything! Stop this mess! I order! I say! And check everything! On the radio, on television, and in print, uproot all sympathizers of this!
Ülo Sooster
Ülo Ilmar Sooster (October 17, 1924 in Ühtri, Käina Parish – October 25, 1970 in Moscow) was an Estonian nonconformist painter.
Ülo Sooster was born the village of Ühtri on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He was the son of Johanne ...
's widow narrated:
From many memoirs there is an impression that Khrushchev genuinely believed that it was an exhibition of
homosexualists (who were criminalized in the Soviet Union). A well-known example from the recollections of
Ernst Neizvestny: Khrushchev asked Ernst: "Are you a ''pidaras'' (
faggot
''Faggot'', often shortened to ''fag'', is a Pejorative, slur in the English language that was used to refer to gay men but its meaning has expanded to other members of the queer community. In American youth culture around the turn of the 21s ...
)?" Ernst retorted, no, just give me a girl and I will show you. It looked like Khrushchev liked this answer.
Никита Хрущев, отец русского авангарда
''Kommersant
(, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
'', December 16, 2002
See also
* Bulldozer Exhibition
* Socialist realism
References
Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet nonconformist art
1962 in the Soviet Union
Art controversies
1962 in art
Art exhibitions in Russia
Russian avant-garde
December 1962 in Europe
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