Observers from Abroad: Twentieth Century Western Documentary Photography in the USSR

Observers from Abroad offers an examination of published and archival images of Soviet Russia, providing a deeper understanding of the complexities and vicissitudes of its political culture.

The book argues that photography, when accurately interpreted, can be utilized as primary historical evidence that has the potential to both enhance and counter traditional verbal analysis. Employing a number of images of the Soviet Union captured by gifted documentary photographers from the West, who received visas to work in Moscow from the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917 to the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the book also assesses the intentions of the photographers, who acted as conscious observers capturing visual evidence under the restraining conditions of state surveillance. Each chapter provides a closer look at the life and work of these photographers, with a wealth of historical images and discussion.

Richly illustrated and engaging, this volume will be ideal for students, scholars, and readers interested in Soviet history, twentieth century history, and the history of photography.

Martin A. Miller is Professor in the Department of History at Duke University, USA. His research interests are best described by his books: Kropotkin (1976), a scholarly biography of the prominent Russian anarchist, Peter Kropotkin; The Russian Revolutionary Exiles (1985), an analysis of the first generation of political exiles from Imperial Russia in Western Europe; Freud and the Bolsheviks (1996), an exploration of the influence of Freud and the origins of psychoanalytic theory in Russia; and The Foundations of Modern Terrorism: State, Society, and the Dynamics of Political Violence (2013), an analysis of the interaction of state and insurgent terrorism since the French Revolution in the Western world.