The Soviet Lens: Photography by Dmitri Baltermants and Mark Markov-Grinberg

In the Soviet Union, photojournalists were told to create images that showed their country’s progress toward a bright future. This exhibition examines the role of truth and censorship in the work of two important Soviet photojournalists, Dmitri Baltermants and Mark Markov-Grinberg.

Baltermants (1912-1990) spent forty-five years on the staff of Ogonyok, a popular magazine similar to Life. Promoted to editor of photography in 1965, he held major influence over how Soviet citizens understood themselves and their place in the world.

Markov-Grinberg (1907-2006) was among the hugely successful photojournalists of the 1930s, known for his heroic images of laborers.

Together their careers spanned varying political climates, from the repressive Stalin years to the relative openness of the 1960s.

While the Soviet Union did not recognize photographers such as Markov-Grinberg and Baltermants as artists, their work played a key role in forging Soviet identity in the midst of political turmoil.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website