The image measures approx. 11 ¼" x 7 ½". Total size with the backing frame is 13 ¾" x 10 ½". Printed on thin but fine quality semi-gloss paper and affixed by a thin line of glue along the top edge to a thin cardboard backing inside a printed frame. The title of the painting and name of the artist are printed under the color plate on the right. The painting depicts a Civil War battle scene, with the Red Army units under the command of Nikolay Shchors, a Civil War hero of the Soviet pantheon.

The print is in outstanding superb condition. No damage of any kind to the image whatsoever. The backing cardboard is in excellent condition as well, showing just barely discernible corner bumps and a thin discoloration line along the right edge, probably due to exposure to light while in storage.

Pavel Sokolov-Skalya (1899 - 1961) was a Soviet painter and graphic artist, educator, professor and member of the USSR Academy of Fine Arts, winner of 2 Stalin prizes. The hero of this triptych though is a much more interesting figure.

A native of Ukraine, Shchors became an NCO in the Tsarist Army during WW1; early in the Russian Civil War, he sided with the Soviet Russian forces which ended the short period of Ukrainian independence. Although he joined the Bolshevik party only in 1918, Shchors quickly rose to prominence in the Red Army. In 1918, he fought against both the fledgling Ukrainian nationalist government and its German backers, at the end of the year briefly became a military governor of Kiev, and in the first half of 1919 led several successful offensives against the White Forces in Ukraine. He was killed in the late summer of 1919 under unclear circumstances, most likely by one of his own troops as a result of a squabble over leadership.

After his death Shchors entered the official Communist pantheon; his name became especially famous after a WW2 era "biographic" movie and a popular song written in his honor. Unlike many other early Soviet leaders who had survived the Civil War only to perish in the Stalin's purges, he never became compromised as an "enemy of the people" and therefore many city streets and locations in the former Soviet Union bear his name to these days.

Please note that the pen in our photo is for size reference.