When did the Bear replace the Hapsburg Double-headed Eagle? I think if one looks at the way the Knave of Diamonds and Donkey’s Tail pre-revolution arts' collectives lead to or towards the neo-Classical fascist sculpture, but also the under-appreciated agit-prop of that era (the formalized typography and poster art already well recognized) and the designs for mass production revolutionary-era art and art artifacts, one can find in the epic sculpture of the era (prior to, in some cases coinciding with the neo-Classical fascist era, sometimes diametrically opposed in school of thought, sometimes from the same artist) heroic figures which were associated with the hammer and sickle (Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by Vera Mukhina).

How is that symbol now perceived inside Russia? Personally I find most neo-Classical work boring, not so much as a typical American Russophobe but in the same vein as maybe not always loving say a Jacques-Louis David, but I very much like a good deal of Mukhina’s work, very much including Worker.

When I think Bear for some reason, perhaps irrational Pushkin comes to mind? Or Tolstoy’s Pierre’s dancing wrestling bear? How is the image of the Bear as the symbol understood inside Russia itself, of course not a monolithic entity, outside of the portrayal in Western media? Beloved, hated, not relevant?