Russia. XX century in photographs. 1946—1964

The exhibition ‘Russia. XX Century in Photographs. 1946—1964’ is a continuation of the MAMM/MDF programme ‘The History of Russia in Photography. A Photo Chronicle of Russia’, which began in 1997. The exhibition marks the launch of the third volume of the book ‘Russia. XX Century in Photographs. 1941—1964’. The book was published with the help of a grant awarded by the President of the Russian Federation (award number 115-RP dated 29 March 2013) and on the basis of a competition run by the Znanie Rossii (Knowledge of Russia) society.

The exhibition features works by classic Russian photographers, such as Dmitry Baltermants, Lev Borodulin, Vsevolod Tarasevich, Viktor Akhlomov, Valery Gende-Rote, Robert Diament, Emmanuil Evzerikhin, Vladislav Mikosha and Alexander Ustinov. It also includes shots by Soviet photo correspondents whose work is less well known to the general public — Mikhail Grachev, Anatoly Morozov, Nikolai Volkov, Semyon Mishin-Morgenshtern, et al.

The photographs are from the collections of MAMM/MDF, ‘FotoSoyuz’ agency, the State Literature Museum, the Russian State Archive of Cinema and Photography, the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre, GUM press service, Sovremennik theatre, and private collections.

The exhibition presents photographs which illustrate the reconstruction of Russia after World War II and the return to a peaceful life. The images depict the most important events of that period, including the celebration of Moscow’s 800th anniversary; the 20th Congress of the Communist Party; the honouring of the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin; the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Academic Lev Landau. The exhibition also focuses on everyday life, and achievements in the fields of education, science, culture and sport.

‘Russia. XX Century in Photographs. 1946—1964’ includes images of the widest possible range of places in the country, from Moscow to Chelyabinsk, from Norilsk to Crimea, from Leningrad to Vladivostok. And, of course, the photographer’s lens captures faces. The faces of children, scientists, workers, writers, poets, actors, students, musicians and sports people. Our collective portrait against the background of time.

‘Russia. XX Century in Photographs. 1946—1964’ enables everyone to relive the pages of our shared history, without knowledge of which it’s impossible to imagine and build the future.