The story of Emmanuil Yevzerikhin as a professional photographer,or more precisely, as a photojournalist, begins in 1932, when the 21-year-old author arrived in Moscow from Rostov-on-Don at the invitation of the editor-in-chief of Soyuzfoto.
By the early 1930s, the debates of the previous decade, the search for a single “correct” direction in photographic art, the arguments between the “old school” and “leftist photography”, had evolved into clearly defined programs and centralized directives. A general turn toward Socialist Realism had taken place. In 1931, the ‘Soyuzfoto’ trust was established — a state organization responsible for producing photographs for all of the nation’s printed media. The dominant photographic genre was declared to be photo reportage, but one that was to be joyful and life-affirming in spirit.
Upon arriving in Moscow in 1932, Yevzerikhin completed correspondence courses in photography. His teachers and mentors were the leaders of ‘Soyuzfoto’, whose mission was to train the exemplary Soviet photojournalist. It seems that Yevzerikhin embraced the new principles of photo reportage more fully than anyone else. His photographs of the 1930s form a kaleidoscope of idealized images of the Land of the Soviets, combining the discipline of early-20th-century documentary photography with the avant-garde influences of the 1920s.
Emmanuil Yevzerikhin later recalled that he would spend entire days walking through Moscow, camera in hand. He photographed the changing capital — the construction of the Metro, new buildings and sculptures, parades, congresses, and prominent figures of the era.
It is these urban photographs that Yevzerikhin the artist comes through most vividly. The city fascinated him: the strict rhythm of its avenues and new monumental buildings, the quiet lanes of old Moscow, the graphic order of parades and the changing face of the city shaped by slogans — and that peculiar emptiness, now appearing almost surreal, born of the sparse traffic and few passersby. The photographs possess both discipline and atmosphere, employing the diagonal perspectives of avant-garde photography. His vision of Moscow of the 1930s appears at once majestic and warm — perhaps exactly as the capital of the victorious socialism was meant to look.
In 1935, Yevzerikhin took part in a large-scale exhibition of Soviet photography, which presented more than 450 works by various authors. That same year, he joined the icebreaker ‘Fyodor Litke’ on an assignment to Spitsbergen, where he produced a photo report for the magazine Soviet Photo about his compatriots living and working on the remote island. Reporting trips to remote areas, illustrating how the ideas of socialism were spreading even there, were a defining feature of that era.
Emmanuil Yevzerikhin was indeed the exemplary photojournalist. It is evident both in the visual and narrative qualities of his images and in his attitude toward his craft: he kept notes, maintained a personal archive, and sincerely believed in the importance of upholding the principles of Soviet photo reportage.
Эммануил Евзерихин действительно был эталонным фотожурналистом, о чем говорят и визуально-сюжетные характеристики снимка, и отношение к собственной работе: он вел записи, собирал свой архив, искренне верил в важность следования идеям советского фоторепортажа.
It is interesting that even the professional mistake which led to Emmanuil Yevzerikhin’s dismissal from Soyuzfoto in 1939 became a textbook episode in the history of Soviet photography, reflecting certain artistic and ideological tendencies of the time. The incident concerned the so-called “method of fact reconstruction,” then accepted in photo reportage, which Yevzerikhin employed but for which he was subsequently accused of “gross staging.” He had been assigned to produce a photo report on labor discipline at a Moscow factory. Yevzerikhin took two photographs: one showing a time board filled with workers’ number tags, and another depicting a busy workshop in operation. The two images were linked by a clock showing exactly 7 a.m. After the photographs were published, the editorial office received a letter of complaint, stating that the shoot had actually taken place much later, and that the clock hands had been moved at Yevzerikhin’s request.
Last updated on 16.12.2025
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