Soviet Information Bureau photograph collection
Participants of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Trade Unions in Moscow Dance the Yugoslav Kolo on the Moscow-Volga Canal. Soviet Information Bureau Photograph Collection. Davis Center Collection for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Fung Library, Harvard University.
[Soviet Information Bureau photograph collection]
Sovinformbi︠u︡ro.
[1938-1948, bulk 1946-1948]
ca. 5,780 photographs
Online (fully digitized)
Originals: Fung Library, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Special Collection DCVC001. Contact Davis Center Librarian for access.
Intended to document the reconstruction of the Soviet Union following World War II, these black-and-white photographs provide a substantial visual record of daily life, culture, and important historical events at the start of the Cold War. Most of the images were commissioned by the Soviet Information Bureau, precursor to TASS and the main propaganda arm of the Soviet state during World War II. The collection includes photos taken by notable photographers such as Evgeny Khaldey, Georgy Zelma, Arkady Shaykhet, Yakov Khalip, and Max Penson.
Subjects range from famous people, such as Joseph Stalin and Dmitrii Shostakovich, to ordinary people from all parts of the Soviet Union, including Siberia, the Baltics, and the Central Asian republics.
Images of historical interest depict:
The Battle of Stalingrad
Post-World War II demobilization and reconstruction
Nazi war crimes trials in both Nuremberg and the Soviet Union
Victory Day parades on Red Square
Stalin’s 70th birthday celebration
Communist Party leaders
State visits by Field Marshal Montgomery, Lady Churchill, Iranian Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, Marshal Tito, and others