Between the Covers

Hardcover. Russian commercial photo album. Octavo (8 ¼” x 11 ¼”). Grey textured vinyl over flexible card covers. Contains 54 gelatin silver prints (7” x 5”) neatly mounted on the rectos and versos of thick paper leaves. Captioned throughout in English with photocopied handwritten paper labels and two sheets of descriptive commentary by the photographer. Inscribed in ink at the front, with an additional statement in Russian written in ink on the final page. Near fine.

An outstanding album of photographs, all neatly captioned in English, documenting two key events in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The first part of the album consists of 37 images taken during the three-day (19-21 August) coup d'état in Moscow. They were taken by the photographer while participating in the defense of the Russian White House (the present day House of the Government of the Russian Federation). Included are images of demonstrators, the barricades, and the advance of Russian tanks and military vehicles near the White House and adjacent streets in Moscow.

The second part consists of 17 images taken on February 23, 1992 of a Communist Demonstration prohibited by the new Russian government of Boris Yeltsin. As noted by the photographer: “Practically all the center of Moscow was barricaded. The Communists were indignated [sic] and organized the attack that broke the passages to the Square …” Included are images of the demonstrators, special Moscow militia units, and of the ensuing confrontation.

An historically important collection of dramatic images of key events leading to the rise of Boris Yeltsin.

Item #538101