Because Stalin knew the value of photographs both in historical archives and in their use as a medium, his “enemies” often disappeared from the footage.
Stalin did not have Photoshop, but that did not stop him from erasing the traces of his enemies from history textbooks.
Using tools that seem incredibly primitive today, Soviet proto-photoshoppers make “once celebrities disappear” and create photographs depicting Stalin as Lenin’s only true friend, comrade and heir, leader of the Bolshevik revolution and founder of the USSR. “, writes offnews.bg.
One day a politician may have been honored, and the next he may face execution – as an enemy of the people. In the Soviet Union, people were literally erased from history textbooks using photo manipulation techniques.
After coming to power in 1929, Stalin declared war on Soviet citizens, whom he considered “tainted” by their ties to political movements before his own.
Since 1934, he has been destroying a constantly changing group of political “enemies.” About 750,000 people died during the Great Purge, as it is known today, and more than one million people were expelled to remote areas to work hard in the Gulag.
During the purge, many of Stalin’s enemies simply disappeared from their homes. Others were executed in public – after show trials. And because Stalin knew the value of photographs both in historical archives and in their use as a medium, his “enemies” often disappeared from the footage.
This clumsy craft work, one of the more enjoyable tasks for the art departments of the publishing houses at the time, required serious dexterity with the scalpel, glue, paint and airbrush. In this way, Stalin ordered that those comrades whom he ultimately considered disloyal (and who were usually executed) be “removed” from history.
Photo: This historical photo shows young socialists in 1897, before some of them rose to power. You will recognize the young Vladimir Lenin (in the middle) – of course, he retains his place. Alexander Malchenko (standing, left) was unlucky: in 1930 he was accused of being a spy, executed and replaced with a white spot.
