Barge Haulers on the Volga

Barge Haulers on the Volga or Burlaki (Russian: Бурлаки на Волге, Burlaki na Volge) is an 1870–1873 oil-on-canvas painting by Russian realist artist Ilya Repin. It depicts 11 men (burlaki) hauling a barge along the banks of the Volga River. They are at the point of collapse from exhaustion, oppressed by heavy, hot weather.

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.