Vasilii Vasil'evich Sur'ianinov began his general studies at the State Free Art Workshops (GSKhM) in the village of Koz’modem’iansk. He graduated in 1922. Thereafter, he studied at VKhUTEMAS (Higher Art and Technical Studios) in Moscow where he studied under the tutelage of noted Soviet artists, Sergei Vasilievich Gerasimov and German Vasilievich Fedorov. After graduating in 1928, Sur'ianinov worked professionally as a graphic designer and spent a majority of his career working in the field of post...

Iskusstvo publishing was formed in 1936 from Ogiz-Izogiz (State Art and Literature Publishing House). The entity also had its own lithography workshops. In Moscow, the publisher had printing operations located at 2 Sadovo-Kudrinskaia Street, 9 Dmitrov Lane, and at 2 Tsvetkovskii Passage.

Iskusstvo was the Art Publishing House (A.K.A. Visual Arts Publishing) that was created in 1936 from Ogiz-Izogiz (State Art and Literature Publishing House). It disseminated books and journals dealing with graphic design and the fine arts, and it issued numerous posters. Since the Iskusstvo banner was part of the State Printing Works in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and Moscow, its two main offices were located in those two cities.