About the Project

The Project “Glimpses of the Past. Images of the Jewish People in the Russian Empire’s Photography. From the Collections of the Russian Museum of Ethnography" became the winner of the Second Competition of Museum and Exhibition Grants of the Russian Jewish Congress for the development of projects in the field of Jewish culture.

This is the first integrated project of the Department of Photography, which involved not only all Department members, but also the Deputy Director and Chief Curator N.N. Prokopyeva (author of the online exhibition and Yudovin graphics catalog) and Head of Automation and Systematization Department, I.Yu. Khurgina (the website catalogue and exhibition coordinator).

Active work on the project began in October 2020. The staff of the Department of Photography prepared photo collections for publication in the format of an online catalogue consisting of several albums. The catalogue was conceptualized by K.Yu. Solovieva with the participation of E.F. Kononova.

On the preparatory stage, K.Yu. Solovieva and E.F. Kononova organized systematization and attribution of photo collections on Jewish culture of the mid-19th – first third of the 20th century. In addition to studying the photographs, making inventories of photo collections and archival documents from the REM scientific archive, identification of photographic processes, consulting of museum staff (T.Yu. Emelianenko and L.A. Slastnikova), the authors expanded the source study base. The annotations to the photographs in the published catalogue, texts and reference books are based on information collected in course of study of a wide range of sources through online resources on Jewish Studies (toldot.ru, J-roots.ru, eleven.co.il, ujew.com, myshtetle.org, arzamas. academy), history of photography (rusalbum.ru, fototikon.blogspot.com), libraries, and archives.

K.Yu. Solovyeva has introduced photographs of such famous photographers as K. Brandel, F. Bonfils, S.A. Yurkovsky, I. Sh. Serebrin, A.Kh. Zimson, I.S. Felser, S.S. Felser, I.M. Yakobson, A.A. Posse, J.L. Tiraspolsky, and others, specified the time when photos from the collections of M.I. Greim, D.I. Ermakov, F. OrdeN, F. Bonfis were created, fully attributed A.D. Elkind’s collection, identified historical figures on the photographs (Hazzan S.M. Neiman, Hakham S.M. Pampulov). E.F. Kononova was the first to systematize expedition photographs of the staff and correspondents of the Ethnographic Department and photographs from the ethnographic expedition of S.A. An-sky, clarifications were made to the titles and dating, 4 more original negatives by S. B. Yudovin were attributed and registered in the REM collection. A total of nine sections were prepared for the online catalog.

The grant support of the Russian Jewish Congress made it possible to buy computer equipment, photographic equipment, and basic software to fill in all information blocks in Russian and English, annotations to photographs and S. B. Yudovin’s graphics were translated to Hebrew. Research associates of the Department Baranova N.A., Belogubtsev A.V., Smirnova Yu.S. scanned documents, photographs and filled in the Data base information.

Within the framework of the same project, 445 photographs on Jewish culture (including 48 negatives and 252 prints for the online catalogue) went through all the necessary stages of preservation. Art restorer V.A. Kostyuk performed the work on dedusting photographic prints, cleaning the non-emulsion side of negatives, gluing peeled-off cardboard passe-partouts, inputting information of photographs preservation into the EDB.

The Department’s photographers O.V. Ganicheva and A.A. Lyubimova made 3D photos of exhibits for an online catalogue, edited videos. K.Yu. Solovieva and O.V. Ganicheva designed and made title screens for the website and presentation.

To accompany the online catalogue, N.N. Prokopyeva prepared the online exhibition "The Jewish Wife and Her Role in the Family" and “The Jewish Town in S. Yudovin’s Graphics" catalog.

K.Yu. Solovyeva, Project Manager, Head of Department of Photography

Project Team

Karina Solovieva - Project Manager

Head of the Photography Department, Collection Keeper

Coordinator of partnership within the project implementation

Curator of the project

Karina Solovieva creates directory structure and is an author of the online albums on 19th century photographs, photographs of the Caucasus and Central Asia Jews, the Krymchaks, and the Crimean Karaites. Moreover, Mrs. Solovieva is an author of the guide books and indexes.

Natalia Prokopyeva

Vice-Director, Main Keeper

Natalia Prokopyeva is a coordinator of the video recording of the objects from the Museum collection.

She is an author of the online exhibition Jewish Wife and Her Role in the Family.  

Elena Kononova

Senior Fellow of the Photography Department and Collection Keeper

Elena (Feodorovna) Kononova is a co-curator and an author of the online albums on expedition photographs of the European Jews, and compiler of the guide books and indexes.

Alexander Belogubtsev

Scientific Worker of the Photography Department

Alexander Belogubtsev scanned photographs, and filled in the Database information in English and Hebrew. He participated in compiling the indexes.

Yulia Smirnova

Scientific Worker of the Photography Department

She scanned photographs, and filled in the Database information in English and Hebrew. Yulia Smirnova participated in compiling the indexes.

Natalia Baranova

Scientific Worker of the Department of Photographs of the Photography Department

She scanned photographs.

Olga Ganicheva

Photographer of the Photography Department

Olga Ganicheva made photos and videos, and processed the photographs. She, also, prepared information materials about the project for the Museum website.

Anna Lubimova

Photographer of the Photography Department

Anna Lubimova made photos and videos, processed the photographs, and scanned photographic negatives.

Vera Kostyuk

Photo conservator

Vera Kostyuk carried out preventive conservation of photos. She performed the work on dedusting and cleaning photographic prints, glued peeled-off base paper and cardboard passé-partouts using sustainable acid-free materials, reinforced fractures. She also contributed to the photographic processes guide.

Irina Khurgina

Head of the Automation and Systematization Department

Irina Khurgina is responsible for publication of the online catalogue and project materials on the Museum website.