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Russia was very active in the area of photography. We see numerous 19th century Russian photographic images. Almost all of the ones we have found are cabinet cards. We have not found any early format types like Dags and Ambros. That does not mean that none exist, we suspect it does mean that they were not very common. With the appearance of albumen photography (1860s), we do begin to see images. Almost all of the portraits we have found are cabinet cards. We have not found many CDVs, unlike photography in the West where CDV were very popular, especially in the 1860s and 70s. Russia was the largest country in Europe. Much of the population, however, was in the counntryside, many were serfs orafter 1861 ormer serfs. Almost all of the photographic record, howver, is of the upper- and middle-class population of the cities, a narrow segment of the popuation. After the turn-of-the 20th century we see postcard-back photographs, both studio portaits and snapshots. The number of Russian snapshots seem relatively limited for such a large country. A Russian photographer, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, created a wonderful, if complicated, color photography system. The images were stuningly beautiful, but the process was too complicated for commercial use. There were also a number crative photographers. Russian photographers participated in important movements of the time, ncluding romanticism, constructivism and the avant-garde, As a result of their work there is a wondrful body of wotk realistically depicting life in Tsarist Russia. The Bolsheviks upon seizing power demanded that photographers create images depicting a true worker's paradise an early use of photogaphy as a propaganda tool. Photographers who wanted to pusue their profession had to comply with Government edicts which were not always consistent. Lenin took a personal interest in propaganda and set out to ensure that photographers worked to promote the Revolution. There was in the 1920s still some room for creative photography. One of the best known early Soviet photo journalists was Leonid Shokin, whose work gained him some fame in the 1920s. Communist ideological control on photography became even more pronounced in the late-1920s when Stalin gained control of the Party and Soviet state. Stalin strongly promoted the concept of Soviet realism. We begin to see very idealized images of workers, farmers, atthletes, and soldiers. By the 1930s, all Soviet profesional photographic work looked alike. Unlike some photographers sentenced to the Gulag, Shokin was not arrested. Most of his archive, however, was destroyed. He had to watch the NKVD destroy over 5,000 of his images. Some of his images of the Soviet Union survived, but only because they reached the West.
We have not found any early format types like Dags and Ambros. That does not mean that none exist, we suspect it does mean that they were not very common. Russia was isolated from much of he rest of Europe and technologically backward. Thus it is understandable that the photographic industry in Russia lagged behind much of Europe.
Russia was very active in the area of photography. We see numerous 19th century Russian photographic images. Almost all of the ones we have found are cabinet cards. With the appearance of albumen photography (1860s), we do begin to see images. Albumen imagesa re mostly portaiys, primarily CDVs and cabinet cards. Almost all of the portraits we have found are cabinet cards. We have not found many CDVs, unlike photography in the West where CDV were very popular, especially in the 1860s and 70s. Russia was the largest country in Europe. Much of the population, however, was in the countryside, many were serfs or after 1861 ormer serfs. The photographic record of any country is not only a function of the population (number of people), but also the income of the population, meaning how many people could aford to have aportrait taken. Almost all of the photographic record, however, is of the upper- and middle-class population of the cities, a narrow segment of the popuation. The albumen images are a little different in Russia than in other countries. First of all the CDVs rapidly went out of style when cabinet cards appeared (late-1860s). The classic cards very commonly stated 'Cabinet Portrait' in English on the front side. Just why that way we are not sure, it was obviously a cabinet card, and why it was in English we also do not know. We think this may have been a finaical matter. It was easier to mass produce cards that just said 'Cabinet Portrait' rather than smaller numbers identifying the individual studios. Unlike America and Western Europe, we do not see nearly as many different styles of mounts after the turn-of the 20th century. We continue to see the mostly the classic 19th century mounts into the 20th century. The colors of the mounts did change to some pof the same colors popular in the West.
Tarist Russia was very backward in the 19th century. Photography developed in Western Europe and was quickly picked up in America. It was slower to spread in Russia. We have no information on Dag and Ambro studios. We do see CDVs and cabinet cards, mostly cabinet cards. A lot of the studios that opened appear to be foreign photographers who opened up studios in major Russian cities. Many of the studios appear to be opened by Germans. A factor here was the substantial German population in the Baltic prvinces. They were not foreigners, but had strong contats with Germany where photography flourished. We continue to see cabinet cards after the turn-of-the 20th century. After the Revolutin (1917), private businesses were nationalized. This included shops, meaning small business like photographic studios. We are not sure just how all this affected Russian photogrhy. We espect many of the Germans operating studios left Russia. Some may have been arrested as enemy aliens during the War. The decline of living standards in oviet Russia maeans that family photograhyn was liited. We do not see many snapdhots. This fid not change much until after World War II in the 1950s. We do not know much about the type of portaits produced by studio. We do note that even in the 1970s we ee cabinet cards. In te West cabinet cards were not very common after the 1920s.
The number of Russian snapshots seem relatively limited for such a large country. This was an economic function. Poverty in Russia, both before and after the Revolution was widespread. Poverty and low incomes meant that most people could not afford cameras and the expense of amateur family photography. Snapshots existed, but the photography record is relatively limited for the most populace country in Europe.
Street photography existed in masny countries. By this we mean that photographers who made a living by photographing people on the street rather than in studios. This usually mean in popular venues like tourist atractions, recreational facilities, parks, public buildings, museums and national muments. This was more common in Europe than America because so many Americans had cameras of their own and could aford photography. It seems to have been especially common in Russia, particulsrly during the Soviet era. We are not sure how this worked. People in the Soviet Union were not susposed to go into business for themselves. In fact it was illegal and could get you arrested. So we are not sure how this was organized. Were these street photographers part of a state-owned photographic enterprise or copperative? Or were they actual independent individuals in business for themselves? Now these images are not usually identified, so we often have to guess that they are the work of street photographers. Many are obvious, but others are more of a guess. A rarer type of street photographers are individuals who pursue candid photographs of people as a kind of art form. This was more difficult in the Soviet Union than in most countries, but there were a few examples. One fascinating example is Masha Ivashintsova.
Printed postcards became a popular method of communication in the late-19th vcentury. We do not see photo postcards, however, until the turn-of-the 20th century. At least vwe have not yet found any. After the turn-of-the century we see postcard-back photographs, both studio portaits and snapshots. Our concern here is with with the photographic postcards. Most of the early ones are studio portraits. They were popular because they could be mailed to family and friends. Some were mailed as postcards. This is useful as they commonly had dated postmarks. Others were enclosed in letters. While we are primarily interested in the images on the front of these card, the backs are interesting because they are either dated or can help to date the images on the front. Early postcards, for example, had undivided backs without the separated designated area for the address and message.
A Russian photographer, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, created a wonderful, if complicated, color photography system. The images were stuningly beautiful, but the process was too complicated for commercial use. There were also a number crative photographers. Russian photographers participated in important movements of the time, ncluding romanticism, constructivism and the avant-garde, As a result of their work there is a wondrful body of wotk realistically depicting life in Tsarist Russia. The Bolsheviks upon seizing power demanded that photographers create images depicting a true worker's paradise an early use of photogaphy as a propaganda tool. Photographers who wanted to pusue their profession had to comply with Government edicts which were not always consistent. Lenin took a personal interest in propaganda and set out to ensure that photographers worked to promote the Revolution. There was in the 1920s still some room for creative photography. One of the best known early Soviet photo journalists was Leonid Shokin, whose work gained him some fame in the 1920s.
Another important Soviet photographer was Boris Ignatovich.
Communist ideological control on photography became even more pronounced in the late-1920s when Stalin gained control of the Party and Soviet state. Stalin strongly promoted the concept of Soviet realism. We begin to see very idealized images of workers, farmers, atthletes, and soldiers. By the 1930s, all Soviet profesional photographic work looked alike. Unlike some photographers sentenced to the Gulag, Shokin was not arrested. Most of his archive, however, was destroyed. He had to watch the NKVD destroy over 5,000 of his images. Some of his images of the Soviet Union survived, but only because they reached the West.
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