The museum's photofund has been replenished with new exhibits

The collection of the State Museum of Political History of Russia was replenished with new exhibits. The famous Swiss photographer and graphic artist Daniel Gendre gifted to the museum 44 photographs from the series «USSR. 1970». These photographs show our country as the Swiss artist saw it almost 50 years ago.

In 1970, the young photographer Daniel Gendre and his wife Susanna spent four months in the USSR. They travelled around the world, visited many countries and then found themselves in Russia. Just in that moment there were celebrations of the 100thanniversary of Lenin. Travelling from Nakhodka to Leningrad, Gendre created his «little Russian stories», capturing the Soviet everyday life.

In 2008, at the State Museum of Political History of Russia there was an exhibition «USSR 1970 in the lens of a Swiss photographer». Most of the works presented at that exhibition were now included in the museum's collection.

At the ceremony of giftingthe photos, the General Directorof the Museum Evgeny Artyomov thanked Mr. Gendre and assured him that the photos will occupy a worthy place in the scientific and exposition activities of the Museum. Artemov also noted that the replenishment of the collection was made possible due to the organizational and financial support of Mrs. Madeleine Isabelle Lyuti, President of the Swiss Center in Saint-Petersburg and the International Center of Cultural and Scientific Cooperation Helenika.

Daniel Gendre said he was pleased to be back in the museum in the year when the institution celebrates its 100th anniversary. «When we traveled around Russia, Susanna and I were very young, we were just over 20 years old, - the photographer recalls. - We liked the country very much,the trip was well organized. I documented everything I saw. It was important for me to show life in the USSR in its human dimension».