The son of the renowned Soviet poster artist Viktor Deni, Nikolai Denisov became a successful artist in his own right. He began his design career prior to World War II and he often worked in collaboration with his wife, Nina Vatolina, who happened to be one of his father’s favorite students. Denisov and Vatolina graduated from the Moscow Art Institute (class of 1942) and had married during the time they were students. Many of Vatolina’s ea...

Vladislav Grigor'evich Pravdin attended the Ogiz Printing Technical School in Moscow and began exhibiting professionally in 1938. In 1940, he graduated from the Moscow Fine Art Institute and upon graduation, he lived and worked in Moscow. He joined the Grekov Studio of Military Art in 1943 and practiced there until 1969. During World War II, Pravdin created a number of battlefield sketches during his time at the front. With his wife Zoia Pravdina, he designed over a dozen military-themed ...

Until World War II, Latvia had thriving publishing and printing industries. Between Soviet annexation in 1940 and the German occupation in 1941, Lativa's position as a European publishing hub drastically changed. Around 1940 Lativa's largest publisher, Liesma (Flame), was nationalized during Soviet annexation. The publisher became VAPP (Department of State Book Publishers and Polygraphic Enterprises) and was controlled as a state-run entity. From 1946-1964, VAPP was named Latgosizdat and in 1965, the publisher was re-named Liesma. It specialized in ...