Scenes from Russian Folk Life n.d.

Ignatii Stepanovich Shchedrovskii made this print, "Scenes from Russian Folk Life," sometime in the mid-19th century. It depicts an encounter between a man and working women, possibly in a communal courtyard, and encapsulates tensions between social classes in Russia at that time. The setting suggests a society still heavily reliant on manual labor, while the man’s dress and posture indicate a different social standing. The woman is shown in a position of subservience. The man is passively observing the woman, and his gaze carries an element of social critique. This image opens up questions about Russia's social fabric, class divisions, and the roles of men and women in the mid-19th century. Scrutinizing sources from the period, such as contemporary social commentaries, literature, and economic data, would further illuminate the relationship between labor, class, and social expectation during this transformative era in Russian history.