Nikolai Nikolaevich Baskakov was a Soviet painter, a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists, who lived and worked in Leningrad, regarded as one of the leading representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, most famous for his genre and portrait painting.

Union of Artists of Saint Petersburg was established on August 2, 1932, as a creative union of the Leningrad artists and arts critics. Prior to 1959, it was called "Leningrad Union of Soviet Artists". From 1959, it was called as Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of Russian Federation. After the renaming of the city in 1991, it became known as the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists.