Soviet Era

Iconic images of the Soviet era take their place among never-seen-before images from Mikhail Markov-Grinberg, one of the greatest Russian photographers of the 20th century. Markov-Grinberg (1907-2006) is perhaps best known for his pictures of Red Stars replacing Double-headed Eagles on the Kremlin towers, or his portrait of miner Nikita Izotov — images which helped to define the culture of the USSR in the 1930s and recorded a fast-changing society emerging into a new world. The pictures chosen for this new publication reflect many of the themes that obsessed Markov-Grinberg during a creative life which saw him ranked alongside the likes of Rodchenko in the annals of great Soviet image-makers. Reflecting half a century of Russian history, his images combine the march of industrialization and aviation with rural images and pictures of childhood. War footage and portraits of the famous contribute to the formal history of the nation.