As the Germans let out a Bolshevik to Russia 1917

This 1917 print by Ivan Bilibin has a strange, almost surreal quality, doesn't it? I can imagine him hunched over his work table with a magnifying glass, carefully placing each line. The artist's use of strong reds, blacks, and greys, combined with detailed linework, gives it a slightly sinister edge. I'm immediately drawn to the figure on the left, a Bolshevik, holding a red flag. You can almost feel the weight of the flag, the tension in his shoulders as he strides forward. The grotesque, decaying eagle in the center is a particularly striking image—dripping and deformed. It's as if Bilibin is skewering German imperial power, showing us its ugliness beneath the surface. It's like the artist is using a dark sense of humor to critique the political moment, and in the process he’s created something that’s both unsettling and captivating. I think what Bilibin is doing is a great example of how art can be a kind of visual activism. He's not just making a pretty picture. He's making a statement.