How the space race changed Soviet art By Stephen Dowling27th April 2021 The space race – rockets, satellites, record-breaking cosmonauts – was a way for Soviet artists to adopt avant-garde ideas under the cloak of propaganda. I It stands outside the gates of the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy, the giant trade-show-meets-amusement-park intended to show off the might of Soviet industry and science. It was built at a time when the USSR was leading the space race. A time when, to quote the submarine captain in the movie The Hunt for Red October, "the world trembled at the sound of our rockets". The Monument to the Conquerors of Space is cosmic art on an out-of-this-world scale.