In 2020, ROSPHOTO received a private archive containing unique materials that shed light on the creative work and complex life of Georgy Maksimov. This collection represents both the personal and professional archive of the artist. Georgy Maksimov is recognized in history as a cinematographer and photographer who worked at the Lenfilm and Belgoskino film studios. He had the opportunity to collaborate with such prominent directors as Leo Arnshtam, Sergei Yutkevich, and Yuri Tarich. Maksimov took part in the production of landmark films of Soviet cinema, including Girlfriends, The Man with a Gun, The Miners, and others.
The virtual exhibition presents photographs taken on film sets, capturing renowned actors, film crews, and working moments — in other words, the entire filmmaking process of the 1920s–1930s. In addition to these candid, unstaged images, Georgy Maksimov also created outstanding studio portraits of Soviet actors and actresses commissioned by film studios, among them Yanina Zheimo, Zoya Fyodorova, Irina Zarubina, Boris Chirkov, Boris Babochkin, and many others.
The exhibition is further complemented by film stills. The static nature of photography and the movement of cinema together allow viewers to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Soviet cinema of the 1920s–1930s.
In addition, the virtual exhibition includes Georgy Maksimov’s artistic photographs: views of Leningrad captured at different times of day, as well as portraits of friends and relatives that reveal his keen interest in form, texture, and plasticity.
In 1930, Georgy Maksimov took part in the production of Mark Donskoy’s film Fire, which has not survived. Some episodes of the film were connected with the life of the Evenki people. Maksimov’s photographic portfolio was enriched with portraits of the indigenous inhabitants of the Evenki region and photographs of the filming locations.
Georgy, who was born after the death of his father — Yevgeny Maksimov, a lieutenant colonel of the Imperial Russian Army, a journalist, and a traveler, inherited his father’s diapositives and family photo albums. For the boy, these objects became tangible evidence of the turbulent life of Maksimov Sr., filled with heroism and adventure.
It is possible that the presence of numerous photographic images in the family home influenced his choice of a future profession. After studying at a cadet school and later at the First Petrograd Technical School, Georgy enrolled in the Leningrad Photo-Cinema Technical School (LFKT) in 1927 and graduated in 1930, earning a qualification as a cinematographer.
Earlier, in 1918, together with his brother Alexander, Georgy established a small home workshop for repairing dolls, which became a source of income for the Maksimov family in the 1920s. At that time, Georgy was an active and engaged student with a strong interest in photography and cinema. He documented the life of his family, photographed compositions of dolls and household objects, and captured views of Leningrad and its outskirts in the evening and at night. During the same period, in the late 1920s, Georgy took part in photographic exhibitions showcasing works by student cinematographers of the Leningrad Photo-Cinema Technical School (LFKT).
In 1930, first as a lighting technician and later as an assistant cameraman, Georgy Maksimov completed his professional training at the Sovkino film factory.
In the first half of the 1930s, Georgy collaborated with director Yuri Tarich as an assistant cameraman and photographer on the production of defense-themed films (Height 88.5, The Runaways), and worked as a cinematographer on military training films by Veniamin Solomonik (Skis, Radio Set 5-AK, Alarm).
Maksimov’s greatest creative fulfillment came during his work on films produced by the First Artistic Workshop (1934–1939), established at the Leningrad film studio, where he was officially employed as an assistant cinematographer at Lenfilm. The workshop was headed by Sergei Yutkevich, who would later become a classic figure of Soviet cinema. Leo Arnshtam’s Girlfriends (1936), as well as Yutkevich’s The Miners (1937) and The Man with a Gun (1938), can be regarded as the major milestones in Georgy Maksimov’s filmography.
It is likely that Georgy could have realized himself more fully and successfully as a cinematographer had it not been for the war. At its outset, he entered military service in an artillery division’s photo-reconnaissance unit. Georgy Maksimov’s life was cut short in battle near Stalingrad in 1942.
Last updated on 16.01.2026
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