 Along with friends, Ilya Kabakov, Erik Bulatov and Viktor Pivovarov, Vassiliev belonged to a large group of Soviet artists that took advantage of the Nikita Khrushchev "thaw" in official policy that opened up the Soviet Union to Western culture in the years following Joseph Stalin's death in 1953.During this period of time Vassiliev developed his mature style.In his art Vassiliev combines the traditions of Russian Realism (art movement) of the 19th century with the Russian avant-garde of the beginning of the 20th century.