Soviets: Pictures from the End of the U.S.S.R. [Hardcover]

Mr. Shepard Sherbell (Author), Shepard Sherbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

This unparalleled collection of photographs documents the years surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through the camera lens Shepard Sherbell tells a story that language alone cannot. He captures in more than 200 black-and-white images the previously unseen reality of everyday life in the fifteen former Soviet republics. In these photographs - sometimes humorous, amazing, or troubling, but always enthralling - Sherbell offers an unprecedented view of people caught in the crucial moment of transition between communism and capitalism, repression and freedom, security and anarchy. On assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel, Sherbell traveled throughout the dismantled Soviet Union from 1990 to 1993 with more freedom than a citizen could have achieved. Unrestricted in his access to subject matter, he recorded the faces and lives of those who inhabit what was once a superpower. Mothers, mine workers, prisoners, farmers, housewives, children, Sherbell shows us without sentimentality how life looked for a people whose awe-inspiring capacity to survive has been, and continues to be, tested. Serge Schmemann provides a general retrospective and moving introduction to the book.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A vast society, long in collapse, officially shattered when the Soviet Union was dismantled in the early 1990s. Sherbell, an award-winning documentary photographer, spent three years capturing that extended moment of cultural change. Here, 230 of his intense black-and-white images detail discomfort, agony, and closely held hope. Most of the photographs depict a hard reality; encased in a landscape colored by shades of gray, people are dominated by ironworks and cracked statues, isolated by deep snows and cement expanses, and wearied by scarce goods and bruising labor. But Sherbell proves himself to be a keen humorist as well. Several key images such as a fire hose poked through a door; a woman suspended above Siberia's summer mud in her home, made from a renovated gas tank; and a Kilroyesque bust of Lenin provide necessary comic relief, just as the many photographs of people expressing all kinds of feelings solidify the presence of an active human spirit. This expansive collection, unique in its range and artistic vision, is recommended for all libraries. Rebecca Miller, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* For three years (1991-93), photographer Sherbell, working for the German magazine Der Spiegel, canvased the Soviet Union for images of a society that many sensed was about to change drastically. Although his pictures reach American eyes 8 to 10 years later, that doesn't diminish their impact at all. All done in black and white, they are gray and grim, raw and rueful, lightened only occasionally by a smile, a celebration, a moment of prayer. Displayed thematically in chapters on everyday life, work, religious practice, imprisonment, coal and oil production, "Magnitka" (the largest, most polluting steelworks in the world), and change as Communism collapsed, they appear mostly at near-monumental scale, bled to the edges of 13-inch-tall pages. Reflecting the realities of most Soviet citizens, they are full of dilapidated mass housing, antiquated industrial facilities, barren shops, and hard manual labor. Sherbell tersely describes the situation and import of each picture in notes at the ends of the chapters, disclosing such frightening facts behind the images as that half the imprisoned are alcoholics and 40 percent of teenage prisoners come from fatherless families, that the environmental damage wreaked by the huge Sakhalin Island oil fields during 70 years' operation may require 80 years to repair even minimally, and that life expectancy in many parts of the old union was only 50 years when the pictures were made. The last sentence in the book asks, "Will this ever become a 'normal country'?" Unfortunately, the jury is still out on that question. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300091125
• ISBN-13: 978-0300091120
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 9.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Education & Reference > Catalogs & Directories > Catalogs

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Visual Feast, January 8, 2002

By 

Christopher Morris (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soviets: Pictures from the End of the U.S.S.R. (Hardcover)

Sherbell is a master of his craft. He takes the reader on a virtual tour of the former Soviet Union. This talented photographer manages to convey the personality and texture of a complex country and period of history with sensitivity and wit.

"Soviets" is a book that is best savoured one page at a time. The photographs are matched only by the text which, unlike many photography books, adds another level to the work. This is a book that could be placed in the history section of any library as easily as photography.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MEMORABLE AND TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENT, December 9, 2001

By 

Mikhail Evstafiev - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soviets: Pictures from the End of the U.S.S.R. (Hardcover)

One can always tell looking at a book if the photographer was just a "tourist" in the area, on a brief assignment from a magazine, or if he really "lived" in the story and made it part of his life. There have been numerous failed attempts by western photographers to capture this period of history. Shepard Sherbell's book is different. He obviously not only put his heart into every image, he made this work a part of his life, spending several years in Moscow and in different Soviet republics before, during and after the USSR fell apart. His photographs speak about the human spirit, the dignity of the people, their feelings and day to day worries. It is well balanced.
But for someone unfamiliar with the subject the advise is - don't try to "consume" all the images at once. The material is too rich. One has to sink into the book little by little, explore it and revisit it again and again.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starkly Beautiful Images, November 4, 2001

By 

William M. Brodhead (W. Bloomfield, Mi USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soviets: Pictures from the End of the U.S.S.R. (Hardcover)

Having traveled in Russia during the Soviet era, I believe that Sherbell, in words and images, has captured the essence of the latter stages of the Empire. The picures and text show a deep understanding and appreciation of the problems of the Soviet system. More importantly, the beauty, humanity and resiience of the Russian people come shining through. It is a terrific photo book.