There were many economic and artistic changes and continuities in Russia from 1815 to 1939 with regards toward Western ideas.  An economic change was the move from an agricultural nation to a more manufacture based nation as a result of urbanization and the growing number of factories.  Still, Russian industry continued to utilize a large peasant workforce due to the amount of jobs produced by industrial technology advances.  An artistic change would be the censorship of art because of the rise of a totalitarian state under Stalin.  The art in Russian did, however, continue to reflect Russian nationalism due to its policy on isolation.

            With regards to Western ideas, Russia became a more manufacture-based nation rather than agriculture-based.  In the early nineteenth century, the Russians profited by exporting grain to other countries.  After Russia finally industrialized, it used its natural resources, such as metal, to manufacture goods that allowed the Russians to remain independent.  The industrialization of Western Europe forced Russia to focus on manufacturing in order for it to remain as self-sufficient as possible.  Creation of factories in cities allowed for the movement of low-class workers from farms to urban housing and manufacturing.

            With regard to Western ideas, Russian industries continued using peasants for the majority of their labor class.  Landlords kept a strong ruling over their serfs while working on farms in the early 1800s.  By 1939, Russians were still using peasants, but this time in factories and under the command of communist managers.  Technological advances in manufacturing in the U.S. and Western Europe improved greatly, causing the Russians to employ a cheap peasant labor force to try to gain ground in manufacturing.  In Russia, the numerous amounts of jobs created by technological advances forced them to have a large peasant working class.

            The censorship of art grew significantly in the late 1930s, with regard to Western ideas.  In 1815, Russian poets and artists were allowed to be influenced by styles of the West.  In the late 1930s, Stalin delegated that Russian art would not resemble that of the West, by implementing socialist realism.  The attraction of the art in Western Europe forced the Russians to stray from former artistic styles and implement strict restrictions on pieces of artwork.  The totalitarian government of Russia under Stalin caused him to have complete control over artistic influences.

            With regard to Western ideas, Russian art continuously reflected the undeniable nationalism of the Russians.  In the early 19th century, romantic styles were used to interpret the folklore and culture of Russia.  In 1939, socialist realism was used to stay away from the corrupt art of the Western world, and to improve the reflection of nationalism in art and literature.  The stress of the French invading Russia in 1812 cause Russia to try to isolate itself from the Western world and also reflect this in its art.  Due to Russia’s strategy of confinement from the rest of the world, the Russians continued to emulate their national pride in their art.