The article discusses the work of artists active in the 1920s and 1930s in Russia,2 the form and content of which links them with the idea of man-machine, which grew in popularity in the age of heightened industrial development and system changes in the 20th century. The article seeks to present the influence of official guidelines (including cultural and educational policies) and technological change on imagery, and, essentially, to point up the relationship between politics and the form and content of the art. An overview of artists working notably in Russia focuses on that period of their oeuvre that drew overtly on new solutions in visual arts. These artists are less known in Poland nowadays as they were either artistically enmeshed in Socialist Realism down the line or had a role in sanctioning it. The paper further dwells on the relationship between the avant-garde, modern art and engaged art at the early stages of forming the new political system. It also discusses problems such as: changes in art prompted by new ways of artistic practice; artist’s mutual inspirations; the application of imagery types that had formed earlier (especially when artistic activity had its footing in similar objectives); exemplifications of artists frequently drawing on the artistic traditions of their native country without shunning references to landmark works.

“Gerlach & Pulst” plant in Ukraine (1915–1925 yrs.): Polish trace in the history of Ukrainian machine-tool industry

Describes the history of the plant “Gerlach & Pulst” in Ukraine since its evacuation in Kharkiv (1915) until the final liquidation of the enterprise as a machine-tool in 1925. Analyzes the work of the plant in contexts: existing social and political situation, the current status of the machine tool industry and the domestic industry as a whole. Establishes the production organization concept and the role of “Gerlach & Pulst” in the formation of Ukrainian machine-tool. Confirms leading position of the plant in global machine-tool industry in the early 20th century. Determines that the major source of the company success in Ukraine was a highly qualified staff of the workers and employees who had evacuated from Poland. Lack of adequate labor force in the region led to the fact that after the homecoming of the Polish contingent there was no one to effectively use the available production capacity, and the factory as a machine-tool company lost its importance and was disbanded. Nevertheless, with the growth of regional scientific and technical knowledge, the organizational principles and production technology introduced by “Gerlach & Pulst” workers in Ukraine were developed in the newly organized local machine-tool plants.