In the present article, the main principles of the reforms in Revolutionary Russia in the sphere of art are analyzed through the example of the reorganization of the Higher Artistic School of the Imperial Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg into the Free Art Studios (Svomas). The studios were to become a tool for the transformation of the surrounding reality and for the development of the artistic consciousness of the people. The intended result of those transformations was the complete spiritual and material harmonization of society, while the perfection of artistic interpretation was to be replaced with the perfection of social living. The modest and delicate approach of the new government to the sphere of artistic education, including the close attention and appreciation to the Avant-garde trends in art along with the propagation of the accessibility of art and artistic education to the underprivileged classes seems unique and unexpected in light of the grandiose socio-economic shifts of those turbulent times and considering the violent conditions of the Civil war. The research presented here is based on the archival materials and is one of the very first publications on the problems associated with the reform of artistic education in the first post-revolutionary years.