How did historians find out about the undoctored version of Stalin's doctored photographs?
Upvote:8
Originals of these doctored photographs of course survived. In most cases the photograph was published shortly after it was made. At a later time it was doctored and published again. Then every effort was made to remove the original version from public circulation. Let me mention that access to OLD newspapers was always restricted in Soviet times. They were kept in some libraries in closed storages. To access this closed storage in scientific libraries for research purposes one had to obtain special permission. Most public libraries did not keep old newspapers.
Moreover, books were removed from the libraries. My father was a director of a large scientific library in 1930s. He told me that EVERY WEEK special people came with the lists of books to be removed.
It was not illegal for a private person to collect books or newspapers. However, if some undesirable item was found in your possession, you would have to answer unpleasant questions, and most people tried to avoid this.
Anyway, all these old photographs could be eventually found in special storages and private collections.
Most of these doctored photographs included Lenin or Stalin with people who later became undesirable. After Stalin’s death this practice continued. For example when Beria was suddenly dismissed and killed, they had just printed the volume of Great Soviet Encyclopedia which contained a long article "Beria". All copies of this volume had to be urgently replaced. The new version had a VERY long article about the Bering Strait, specially written to occupy the needed number of pages:-) Of course all photographs of Beria suddenly disappeared. Same happened (on a smaller scale) with Khrushchev's portraits when he was dismissed.
Extraordinary efforts were made since June 1941 to remove all photographs of Molotov/Stalin together with Ribbentrop. But of course many survived as you can see on Internet. (And Ribbentrop paid with his life in the Nuremberg trial for these photographs).
Upvote:12
I found the answer:
It’s thought that Stalin’s obsession with photo doctoring constituted a mini industry in the USSR. Publishers were contacted by Stalin’s minions and told to eliminate the enemy du jour from upcoming photos—and they did. According to art historian Peter King, who uncovered thousands of doctored photos and their original versions, the work was not performed in one location or even through an official ministry.
More post
- 📝 Why were the Irish exempt from conscription during WWI?
- 📝 Did most citizens of the British Empire hold racists views before the post-war period?
- 📝 what city was unix invented in?
- 📝 Who is the banished Scottish King? (before 1560)
- 📝 Identify two Medieval Indian coins
- 📝 What was the "concession territory" the IPC lost to Qasim's 1961 Public Law 80?
- 📝 Jewish Money Lenders in England: What happened to Money Lendings after Expulsion?
- 📝 Were the (early 17th C) arrivers/colonists to North America (USA) outcasts from European societies?
- 📝 How did Hedy Lamarr acquire scientific education?
- 📝 Why was the US table tennis team sent to communist China even after a difference in ideology?
- 📝 When did the use of fabricated speeches in historical works go out of fashion?
- 📝 How did 2nd century Romans decide where to build Hadrian's wall?
- 📝 What was the largest warship sunk by a Motor Torpedo Boat in WW2?
- 📝 Noah Versus Utnapishtim
- 📝 Japan allying with Germany in WWII
- 📝 What nationality was "Egbert Van Kampen"?
- 📝 Why did the French return all the Dutch Colonies to the Netherlands in Paris Treaty?
- 📝 Was every Roman citizen part of a curia?
- 📝 What does the inscription on this sword mean?
- 📝 What does the forward "Bullnose" of a Bailey Bridge that is under construction look like?
- 📝 Who was the tallest Roman ever found?
- 📝 Who was responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Short, AKA the Black Dahlia? Was it a doctor who was formerly married to a police captain's daughter?
- 📝 What led some people to (correctly) believe that there was no land under the ice cap at the North Pole?
- 📝 Why did antique guns and swords from the Franco-Prussian War make part of the demilitarization program to which Germany was subjected?
- 📝 Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?
- 📝 Was the concept of religious freedom in the early United States applied to native American faiths?
- 📝 Why is neither side of the warhammer blunt?
- 📝 Why are most of the world's oldest buildings in Europe and not in the Fertile Crescent?
- 📝 When is the Cumaean Temple to Apollo dated?
- 📝 What were the insignia of the Western Roman Empire and what happened to them?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How did historians find out about the undoctored version of Stalin's doctored photographs?
- 📝 When did the allies find out about the killing of Jews during WW2
- 📝 How did the authorities not find the speakeasy clubs during the prohibition?
- 📝 How and why did the Cavalry lance temporarily fall out of favour during the 16-18th centuries?
- 📝 How did Vasco da Gama know about the Southern Cross?
- 📝 How much did the western world know about the Soviet Union pre-WWII?
- 📝 How did the Soviet press talk about the opposing forces (mujahideens) during the Soviet-Afghan war?
- 📝 How come the British did not notify the Poles about the Molotov-Ribbentrop secret protocol?
- 📝 How did the generation who elected Rutherford B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison feel about the electoral college?
- 📝 How can I find out what the printed numbers mean on the back of an older photo?
- 📝 About how long ago was the most recent day on which a human did not die
- 📝 How did Renaissance bring about a sense of redemption in the Europeans?
- 📝 How do historians and linguists know how to pronounce the names from non-phonetic scripts?
- 📝 Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- 📝 How and when did the word "nuclear" replace the word "atomic"?
- 📝 How did Israel win the Six-Day War?
- 📝 How did the general population of England convert so smoothly to Protestantism?
- 📝 How did the USSR manage to innovate in an environment characterized by government censorship and high bureaucracy?
- 📝 How did the Romans do division?
- 📝 How did 300,000 people survive the 3 1/2 year siege of Sarajevo?
- 📝 When and how did the USA and the UK become allies?
- 📝 How did such a relatively minor event as the assassination of an archduke start World War I?
- 📝 How did the Roman state verify citizenship?
- 📝 How did the Nazis plan to defeat America during World War II?
- 📝 How did the ancient Romans count with their fingers?
- 📝 Why did China shut itself out of the world in the 15th century?
- 📝 What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 How serious was Fermat's statement about the ancients?
- 📝 How did Medieval armies survive the use of mail armor in the deserts of the Middle East?
- 📝 How did the American Civil War help the U.S economy recover from the Panic of 1857 given that civil wars are extremely destructive?