Georgi Petrussov

Petrussov, Georgi (1903-71), Ukrainian-born Russian photojournalist. In the mid-1920s he worked for Moscow-based trade union papers, then Pravda. As head of information on the site of the Magnitogorsk steelworks between 1928 and 1930, he created a photographic chronicle of the construction process. From 1930 to 1941 he worked on the prestigious USSR in Construction. Petrussov was influenced by avant-garde colleagues like Rodchenko and Boris Ignatovich (1899-1976), and images like his contre-jour shot of the Dnieper Dam (1934) are magnificent examples of dynamic modernism. However, his propaganda pictures of happy collective-farm workers and optimistic fraternal delegations enabled him to survive under Socialist Realism. He covered many episodes of the Second World War, including the fall of Berlin, and afterwards remained a photojournalist.

— Robin Lenman

Bibliography

• Morozov, S., and Lloyd, V. (eds.), Soviet Photography 1917-1940: The New Photo-Journalism (1984)