The Institute of Russian Realist Art focuses on Soviet and Russian painting of the 20th and 21st centuries. Its collection includes work by Sergey Gerasimov, Arkady Plastov, Alexander Deineka, Yuri Pimenov, Gely Korzhev, Victor Popkov, and other artists whose work shaped the official and unofficial visual language of modern Russia.
It is a useful counterpoint to Moscow's older imperial collections: more specialised, more political, and best suited to visitors with a real interest in Russian art.