Brief Biography-Boris Vladimirski, an official Soviet artist, was born in Kyiv in 1887. He studied under Ivan Seleznyova at the Kyiv College of Art and later at the Academy of Arts, followed by four years at the Munich Academy of art. Stalin established his work as the face of socialist propaganda, and Vladimirski worked for the Pravda newspaper as their artist. His Roses for Stalin masked the true nature of the man. However, the Black Ravens painting of Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD, shows them discreetly whisking people away to prison; remarkably, the picture was allowed for viewing, possibly as a warning to dissidents.