 Yet, around 1923 the brothers emerged as leaders of a new, modernist, architecture.Selim Khan-Magomedov attributed this "instant" change to Alexander Vesnin's solo work in graphic arts and, in particular, in theatre.Leonid and Victor perceived themselves as primarily architects; when Civil War brought practical construction to a standstill, they joined the architectural faculty of MVTU and Vkhutemas, and continued exercises in “paper architecture”.