The style of Socialist Realism came in full force starting when Stalin rose to power in 1930, and the government took a more active role in regulating art creation. The AKhRR became more hierarchical and the association privileged realist style oil paintings, a field dominated by men, over posters and other mediums in which women had primarily worked. The task of Soviet artists was to create visualisations of the “New Soviet Man” -- the idealized icon of humanity living under socialism. This heroic figure encapsulated both men and women, per the Russian word “chelovek,” a masculine term meaning “person." While the new Soviet person could be male or female, the figure of man was often used to represent gender neutrality.