TY - BOOK AU - Skopin,Denis TI - Photography and political repressions in Stalin's Russia: defacing the enemy T2 - Routledge history of photography SN - 9781003184744 U1 - 770.947 PY - 2022/// CY - New York, NY PB - Routledge KW - Photography KW - Soviet Union KW - History KW - Photography of families KW - Political aspects KW - Portrait photography KW - Retouching KW - Photographs KW - Censorship KW - Forgeries KW - Political persecution KW - Missing persons KW - ART / Russian & Former Soviet Union KW - bisacsh N2 - "This book is devoted to the phenomenon of removal of people declared "public enemies" from group photographs in Stalin's Russia. The book is based on long-term empirical research in Russian archives and includes 57 photographs that are exceptional in terms of historical interest: all these images bear traces of editing in the form of various marks, such as blacking-out, excisions or scratches. The illustrative materials also include a group of photographs with inscriptions left by officers of Stalin's secret police, the NKVD. To approach this extensive visual material, Denis Skopin draws on a wealth of Stalin-era written sources: memoirs, diaries and official documents. He argues that this kind of political iconoclasm cannot be confused with censorship nor vandalism. The practice in question is more harrowing and morally twisted, for in most cases the photos were defaced by those who were part of the victim's intimate circle: his/her colleagues, friends, or even close family members. The book will be of interest to scholars working in history of photography, art history, visual culture, Russian studies, and Russian history and politics"-- UR - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003184744 ER -