Aleksandr Nikolayev (painter)

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Aleksandr Vasilievich Nikolayev (30 August 1897 – 27 June 1957), also known as Usto Mumin, was a Soviet painter who lived and worked in Uzbekistan.

Born in Voronezh, his father was a military engineer who moved the family around the Russian Empire before settling in Voronezh in 1914. Nikolayev studied art at various schools, starting with the Sumsk Military School (1908–1916) where he met his first painting teacher. After a stint in the Imperial Russian Army (1916–1917) and further studies in Tver and Voronezh, he joined the art studio of Alexander Buchkuri and later the Second State Free Art Studio in Moscow in 1919, studying under Kazimir Malevich.

During World War I and the civil upheavals, he was drafted again and sent to the front. After his demobilization in 1920, he went to Central Asia to help develop art and culture, eventually settling in Samarkand in 1921. He joined a circle of artists around Daniil Stepanov (1921–1924) who shared an interest in Italian Renaissance art. In 1922, he reportedly converted to Islam and adopted the name Usto Mumin, meaning “Faithful and Gentle Master,” given by his pupils.

Nikolayev returned to Tashkent in 1925, spent time in Leningrad in 1929, and moved back to Uzbekistan in 1930. While directing the Uzbek Pavilion at Moscow’s Union Agricultural Exhibition, he was arrested and imprisoned for four years; one of the reasons cited was his homosexuality, and some of his early Uzbek-period works contained homoerotic themes. He was released in 1942 and was not allowed to paint during his imprisonment.

After release, he worked as an illustrator and theatre designer in Uzbekistan. He helped establish the Uighur Theatre in Tashkent and received an honorary award from the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic for his work there.

Aleksandr Nikolayev died in Tashkent in 1957. His art is held in major museums in the region, including the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, the Nukus Museum of Art, and the Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. He exhibited across the USSR, with notable shows in Samarkand (1924), Moscow (1927), and several exhibitions in Tashkent; the Tretyakov Gallery showcased his work in 2010. The Tashkent theater Ilkhom later created a project called “Pomegranate Zeal” inspired by his paintings.