Russian art in the second half of the 20th century begins  with  the  so-called "Thaw"  (late  1950s-early 1960s). In 1954 I.G. Erenburg published a book entitled "The Thaw" where the main character was an artist who followed  the  traditions  of  Russian  Impressionism. The revival of Impressionism marked the first step towards expanding  aesthetic  forms  and  reviewing  the  very notion  of  "painting"  in  Soviet  art. The Impressionistic worldview  stood  in  stark  contrast  to  solemn  Soviet 
painting, as it focused on spontaneous observation and the  expression  of  life  experience.     
     The  atmosphere of  that  period was largely formed by the hope for a certain  rejuvenation  in every sphere of life and this was reflected in different types of Soviet art. After  the  personality  cult  of  I.V. Stalin  had  been condemned  from  the  high  platform  of  the  Party, it seemed that a new time had arrived, an era devoid of false pathos and totalitarian ideology. 
     From the late 1950s the doctrine of Socialist Realism gradually began to be shaken. The young people of the Artists' Union  proposed a new concept which was called the "Severe Style". They juxtaposed the truth of life with the myth that had been  formed in the solemn art of the Stalinist period (N.I. Andronov, "The Rafters", 1960-1961; P.F. Nikonov, "The Geologists", 1962). One of the main features of this trend was its open social orientation and its  sincere  moral  pathos, when  it  seemed  that  many things could be changed in Soviet society.
       The Moscow  underground  also appears during the "Thaw" (O.Y. Rabin, "One Ruble No.3", 1967). While the artists  of  the Artists' Union  fought  to  breathe  new  life into Soviet art, the masters  of  the underground opposed stable  norms  and  rules.  These  artists  renounce  the principles  of  Socialist  Realism  and  insist  on  creative freedom.  They  try  to  restore  the  avant-garde  to  its rightful place and rely on contemporary art from Europe and America. Various trends emerge in this movement. The most famous of them are Sots Art  and Conceptualism. Sots  Art  debunks  Soviet  myths  based  on  political 
symbolism, signs  and  cliches  which  determine  the everyday mentality of the Soviet person (G.D. Bruskin, "Alefbet", mid-1980s). The artists of this trend often use techniques and methods characteristic of Pop Art. They work with objects, use mass prints from advertising and periodicals; even  the  terms  they  use  have  a  certain affinity  with  but  stress the distance  between the aims of  Sots Art and Pop Art. The intonation of  their works is ironic, while they are often playful.
        Conceptualism  also  profoundly  analyses  the problems of social reality. Its  favourite themes are ideology and mythology, spiritual  atmosphere and everyday life. Unlike Sots Art, Conceptualism focuses on the problem of the language of pictorial creation. It studies the specific features  of  how  art works in society. Conceptualists bring the problem of realising the  creative  idea  into  the  foreground.  They  are convinced that the idea can be expressed in any form, which  is  often  far  from  the aesthetic goals  of  art (I.S. Chuykov,  "The Window", 1974;  I.I. Kabakov, "Masters  of  the  Arts", 1981). 
       While  at  the  beginning of  the 1960s  there was a desire to find a certain grand style, the next decade concentrated  upon  the  use of  different styles and cultural eras. This use takes place at different levels, ranging from dialogue to quotation. 
       Artists  study the language of  Old  Russian Art, of Renaissance  painting (D.D. Zhilinsky, "At the Sea-Side. A Family", 1962), the  traditions  of  the primitive  and Primitivism  (N.I. Nesterova, "A Cafe in Yalta", 1979).
       The artist was highly evident in the works of 1960s-1970s. The  most  important  thing  was  to  make a statement about the individual's attitude towards life, art  and  social  issues. It was  difficult  to  speak openly at  that  time. One  had to resort to allegory. The natural means  of  the  language  of  art,  metaphor,  grotesque, allegory,  were again restored in Russian  culture  during these  decades (V.E. Popkov, "Memories. The Widows", 1966). 
        The lyrical  element  begins to  dominate  intonation: the man and the world, myself and the world, my attitude to  the  world,  myself  and  my  friends  were  the  main themes  in  the  art  of  young  artists  (T.G.  Nazarenko, "A  Moscow  Evening",  1978).  Their  creative  work consciously relied on the intellectual perception of reality. The artists strove to produce multifaceted, sophisticated approaches  to  the emotional and psychological  state of the human being. 
       The  new  generation  of  young  artists  partially continued these explorations in 1980s. But the theatre-like drama and rational intellectualism of  the 70's were foreign to them. 
       The creative work is replete with lyricism, with open, abundant  expression. They work  freely with traditions and  search  for  their  own  way  in art. M.K. Kantor, for instance, achieves full mastery of the aesthetic language of  Expressionism  ("Chernobyl. The  Wormwood  Star", 1987). 
       During the last decades of  the century  new  forms of  creation  were energetically established  in  Russian artistic  life,  such  as  performances,  installations  and various aesthetic actions (I.G. Makarevich, "The Dream of  Painting  Engendering  Monsters", 1990).
       Despite the long and  hard  road  which Russian art passed  along  in  the 20th century, it  gave  art  history many  famous  names  and  remarkable  works.