[1][2] Although they are presented as stoical and accepting, the men are defeated; only one stands out: in the center of both the row and canvas, a brightly colored youth fights against his leather binds and takes on a heroic pose.

The academy at the time was known for its deep conservatism and leaning towards academic art, a fact that bred a sense of revolt and desire for change in many of its students.

That some had once held relatively high social positions dismayed the young artist, who had initially planned to produce a far more superficial work contrasting exuberant day-trippers (which he himself had been) with the careworn burlaks.

[13] Also worthy of note is the inverted Russian flag flying from the main mast of the barge, adding to the sense of hostile unease.

[9] There is a general sense of mounting exhaustion and despair moving from left to right among the group; the last hauler seems oblivious to his surroundings and drifts from the line out towards the viewer.

Set brightly against the uniform muted tones of his companions, he stands straighter; his head is raised looking into the distance, while he pulls against his straps as if determined to free himself from his task.

Barge Haulers drew direct comparisons from critics with Millet's works and Courbet's The Stone Breakers (also 1850), which showed laborers at the side of a road.

According to critic Vladimir Stassov, "They are like a group of forest Hercules with their disheveled heads, their sun-tanned chests, and their motionlessly hanging, strong-veined hands.

[17] When first exhibited, it received enthusiastic reviews for its unsentimental depiction of lower-class laborers, which stood in stark contrast to the romanticised, classical or propagandist nature of most contemporary Russian art.

It earned Repin the respect of Vladimir Stasov[5] who believed that art shaped people's outlook and the way in which they viewed their own political situation.

"[20] Fyodor Dostoyevsky read about Repin's painting in the newspapers and assumed it was another Russian work whose artistry was secondary to its social message.

I came expecting to see these barge-haulers all lined up in uniforms with the usual labels stuck to their foreheads ... To my delight, all my fears turned out to be in vain ... Not a single one of them shouts from the painting to the viewer, 'Look how unfortunate I am and how indebted you are to the people!

A Finnish political cartoon by Kari Suomalainen created an international hubbub in 1958 for showing Nikita Khrushchev on a barge pulled by Eastern bloc countries shouting "Imperialists!"

[23] According to the art critic Elia Kabanov, Repin's painting influenced American orientalist painter Frederick Arthur Bridgman to produce his Towing on the Nile in 1875.