Аннотация:This study examines the historical paintings of the renowned Russian artist Vasily Ivanovich Surikov through the lens of interdisciplinary artistic sociology, offering a novel perspective on his oeuvre. The research is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of twentieth-century Western European sociologists and philosophers, particularly Isaiah Berlin’s concepts of negative and positive freedom, Max Weber’s theory of power and legitimacy, and Émile Durkheim’s notion of collective consciousness. The findings posit Surikov’s works as a unique visual archive of the social and historical processes that shaped Russian society, reflecting fundamental tensions between freedom and authority, the dynamics of legitimacy, and transformations in collective consciousness. By applying cultural sociological definitions to Surikov’s compositions, this study reveals a profound ideological and artistic strategy, demonstrating how his masterpieces capture the discursive construction of Russian national and state identity as a historically evolving phenomenon.