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David King

The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalins Russia New Edition Paperback – Illustrated, September 2, 2014

by David King (Author)

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King looks at how Stalin manipulated the science of photography to further his own political career and to erase the memory of his victims. In each case, the juxtaposition of original and doctored images reveals how easily history can be distorted.

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Product details

Publisher : Tate; New edition (September 2, 2014)
Language : English
Paperback : 232 pages
ISBN-10 : 1849762511
ISBN-13 : 978-1849762519
Item Weight : 2.76 pounds
Dimensions : 9.75 x 1 x 11.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #444,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #682 in Photography History
- #1,270 in Russian History (Books)
- #1,554 in Photograpy Equipment & Techniques

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69 ratings

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A.M.X.C.

A unique look at a fascinating subject

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2017

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I first encountered this book many, many years ago, and found it absolutely fascinating. What artists and artisans were able to do, altering photographs and other "official" images before the advent of computers is remarkable in and of itself, akin almost to magic at the time. The book details everything about not only the politics and the process, but also highlights points of mystery- where gaps in knowledge and history still remain even to this day about some of these ghostly photograph alterations. If you are at all interested in the history of the Soviet Union, particularly of the Lenin/Stalin era, and the lengths they were willing to go to keep up appearances, then look no further. This book is sure to delight and fascinate. Further, I highly recommend this book as a means to engage students from 6th grade or so on up, as looking through the book and seeing the "before" and "after" images is a rather fun thing to do in both a classroom or educational club setting.

4 people found this helpful

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coppertin

An interesting look into the Soviet Union's leadership through photos

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2015

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"The Commissar Vanishes" really shows just how insane the leadership structure and history of the USSR was. David King has compiled a lot of photos, most of them consisting of pairs or sets of pre- and post-doctored versions, showing how Stalin attempted to erase his past rivals and lesser enemies of the state from history. Fortunately, he failed, because many of these people's existences have been preserved here and elsewhere.

King also writes descriptive captions for many of these photos, describing who the erased people were and why they were erased. Figures range from the famous, like Stalin's arch-rival Leon Trotsky, to obscure provincial leaders caught up in Stalin's many purges. King's captions also shed light on the characters of the many interesting figures of the Bolsheviks, backed with first-hand accounts. Who knew, Lenin was an egotistical jerk who had no problem killing people for no real reason. Of course, this theme is expanded upon greatly in the many photos involving Stalin and the purged officials who, one by one, disappear from photos with him.

This is a great coffee table book for those with an interest in early 20th century, or for people who are a little bit morbid.

7 people found this helpful

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Sitcomboy

An intriguing insight into Stalin's rule and his manipulation of the photographic record

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2017

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An exhaustively researched volume that makes for both a fascinating historical record of Joseph Stalin's rather Machiavellian rise to power and how he cemented his rule through carefully crafting the 'Stalin legend', including the manipulation of the photographic records of the time to either present himself in the most favourable light (even when at times he was not even present!!) through to brutally rewriting history to suit his narrative when former comrades fell foul of his paranoia by deleting their very images from photographs of political gatherings, Politburo meetings, etc. The author has done astounding work in tracking down original unaltered prints of many such photos thought lost forever, that frequently present an entirely different picture of the power structures and key people during the Bolshevik Revolution and early years of the former Soviet Union.

2 people found this helpful

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Dana L. Pride

Alternative facts documented in photos, nearly a hundred years ago

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2017

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Excellent book detailing Stalin's attempt to provide "alternate facts" through altered photos. The author did a great job pulling together the original photos and then all the following "touch-ups" - and this was way before Photoshop! If the historical situation were not so awful with his reign of terror, the photo documentation would be humorous, as in some altered photos a remaining hat, arm, hair or other item can still be seen.

For those who are unaware of that period of Russian history and those who learn visually, this book is a great piece of history.

2 people found this helpful

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Zapper45

Creepy.

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2011

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Lie becomes truth in photos. It was stunning to see how iconic photos were edited and reedited to reflect ongoing political "truths" in the Communist Soviet Union. This is one of my favorite books because it so accurately spells out what Communism is: one giant lie. Communists even have to go so far as editing photos to prove their "truth". It's a wholescale indictment against Communism and dictatorships in general. The sheer amount of photos this book reproduces is amazing. If you want some creepy nighttime reading or something to put on your living room coffee table for guests to thumb through and be amazed with history, this book is for you. I can't recommend this book enough. The author has done a tremendous job.

8 people found this helpful

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John C.

A rare gem

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2002

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A true gem of a book, dealing with a subject that is much overlooked. As the inspiration for Orwell's 1984 revising history, it is a chilling look at early Soviet attempts to rewrite history by erasing people from photos. Watching a photo of 5 men dwindle down to a picture of one as the others are disgraced, imprisoned, killed and then erased is just mindblowing!
Whether you are a fan of Soviet history (i'm not) or not, the cold war touched us all and this book documents it in the entirety

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

First rate

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2005

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Splendid blending of text and photographs. I gave this book to my teenage son as he was reading "1984" for a school assignment. He was impressed with the book on its own merits. The pictures draw you in, and I think this is especially true for teens. I could also see that it helped my son understand that Orwell's fiction was everyday life for the people of the Soviet Union.

9 people found this helpful

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steve blankenship

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2016

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Well done.

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Alionsar

... both the ever-shrinking circle of Stalin's "Comrades" and Stalin's amazing ability to be present at the Great Moments Of ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2018

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This is a selection of photos which document both the ever-shrinking circle of Stalin's "Comrades" and Stalin's amazing ability to be present at the Great Moments Of History when you could have sworn that he was thousands of miles away. Both expertly and clumsily altered pictures of Stalin are shown here, shedding an amazing light on the crude psychology of the era, both "airbrushing" people out of history and spitefully sticking pins in their images. This book is a little light on text and could have benefitted from a few more pictures, but is definitely a must for those studying this dark period of history.

2 people found this helpful

P. J. Dunn

Chillingly how even individual citizens rushed to obliterate cherished close family members from domestic photo albums

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2017

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This book is worth it alone for the many painstakingly sourced before and after shots of each censored picture. However the accompanying text is also informative and disturbing. Particularly when it explains how this censorship was carried out not just by party officials, but even by individual citizens who rushed to comprehensively obliterate cherished close family members from privately held photo albums and publications, as soon as those family members fell out of favour with the leadership of the state.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Enjoyable visual evidence of Stalins attempt to misrepresent history in early communist Russia

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2017

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Very valuable evidence of photo manipulation in Stalinist Russia. Stalins attempts to misrepresent history is covered in full.This book is well researched and visually interesting. A must have book for those interested in early Communist Russia.

One person found this helpful

rostaboy

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2017

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There is only one King David comrade.

G. Jones

The Commissar Vanishes...again

Reviewed in Canada on April 19, 2016

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A new edition of this groundbreaking work, with amazing new artifacts and examples collected by King in his ongoing research. As the former Soviet Union continues to reconfigure, new materials are emerging from people's closets and attics. King provides startling new documentation of the participation of ordinary citizens in erasing images in their own possessions of persons in political disfavour, in addition to his meticulous earlier work demonstrating the work of officials, propagandists and archivists in obliterating historical events and individuals from the photographic and documentary record. If you don't know this book, get it -- it raises so many questions about historical evidence, the psychology of totalitarianism and other issues than transcend geography and history, in a very immediate and entertaining way. King's forthright and sometimes sardonic writing style brings out the black humour and absurdity of totalitarian regimes, while not underplaying the horror and tragedy. If you do know this book from earlier editions, spring for this edition for the fascinating new material.

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The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalins Russia New Edition Paperback – Illustrated, September 2, 2014