Smile, tovarishch.

January 29, 2006 3:16 PM

Russian photographs 1917-1945A collection of photographs from the Howard Schickler Gallery,including the Battle of Stalingrad, the Arctic, the collectivization of agriculture, and others. I liked the photos by Olga Lander, in particular.
posted by Gamblor (17 comments total)

Those Stalingrad photos are amazing.
posted by brundlefly at 3:44 PM on January 29, 2006

This is a great post.

Also, I'll just point out that there's more good stuff on the gallery's home page.
posted by kickingtheground at 4:45 PM on January 29, 2006

These are great. I particularly like Georgi Zelma's photos.
posted by amro at 5:33 PM on January 29, 2006

Great post. Thanks!
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:41 PM on January 29, 2006

Fantastic post. It's nice to see so many unstaged photos.
posted by bardic at 7:01 PM on January 29, 2006

Some of these are just awesome. Fantastic post, thank you.
posted by biscotti at 7:38 PM on January 29, 2006

Spasiba!
posted by shoepal at 7:52 PM on January 29, 2006

If nothing else, I've found some people I want to drink with.
posted by Gamblor at 8:05 PM on January 29, 2006

Gamblor, that last guy would definitly be a really interesting drinking buddy.

This is an insane picture. Almost makes me think of the story of Nero setting fire to Rome, of course just the imagery similarity.
posted by vodkadin at 9:09 PM on January 29, 2006

Let me ask, however, if appreciating these photos for their aesthetic brilliance (especially Olga Lander -- very nice) is morally akin to getting off on "Triumph of the Will," or slavering over the black leather aesthetics of the Third Reich? Great as the are, the spirit of socialist realism permeates these shots.
posted by Faze at 5:39 AM on January 30, 2006

Swastika off? Check! Anyone got a Hammer & Sickle plate?
posted by pracowity at 6:52 AM on January 30, 2006

Let me ask, however, if appreciating these photos for their aesthetic brilliance (especially Olga Lander -- very nice) is morally akin to getting off on "Triumph of the Will,"

To put it mildly, Poles don't like Russians, especially Soviet-style Russians, and with pretty good reason, but I don't think there was any great uproar over a recent SocRealism exhibition there that featured a large statue of Stalin. Art, history, art history -- studying them and appreciating them is not the same as joining forces with the people behind them.
posted by pracowity at 7:20 AM on January 30, 2006

If you dance like a Russian, all men will fear you.

Especially liked the Zemla photos. Thanks, Gamblor.
posted by Football Bat at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2006

Faze, you make a good point, but that's exactly why these photos are amazing--they're surprisingly unstaged for Soviet agitprop (at least most of them are). I don't think your analogy holds.

And besides, these were the good guys! /complex irony confusion goes to self-criticism session at Lefortovo
posted by bardic at 10:29 AM on January 30, 2006

They were really bad good guys. Especially when they got to Berlin.
posted by Faze at 11:08 AM on January 30, 2006

True dat. But I'll leave it at this:

Hate the game (Stalin's order), not the playa (sons and daughters of the Soviet).
posted by bardic at 11:47 AM on January 30, 2006

Does anyone else find it the least bit odd that this Socialist-Realist Stalinist propaganda is being sold at one could only call Capitalist Imperialist prices!
posted by Pollomacho at 1:28 PM on January 30, 2006