Soviet photographer Viktor Akhlomov

USSR letters of lights, Kalinin Avenue, 1977. Soviet photographer Viktor Akhlomov

Soviet photographer Viktor Akhlomov was born March 15, 1938 in Moscow. He is one of the most famous photographers of the USSR and Russia. During his professional lifetime Viktor has captured many celebrities and world-historical scale personalities, such as Yuri Gagarin, Ernesto Che Guevara, and Anna Akhmatova. Viktor Akhlomov is an honored Worker of Culture of Russia. In addition, he is the winner of the Russian Journalists’ Union, many All-Union, Russian and international exhibitions and competitions. Besides, he is the four-time winner of the prestigious competition «World Press Photo», winner of the “Golden Eye” – the highest award of Russian photojournalism, Honorary Member of the Union of Photographers of Russia. Akhlomov started working as a photographer for the newspaper “Izvestia” March 5, 1960. To this day, and it is the only entry in his employment record.

Yuri Gagarin and Ernesto Che Guevara 1964

From April 2, 2012 press conference with Viktor Akhlomov at Voronezh House of Journalists:
About work:

If you have an idea, then, working on it, you get spiritual enjoyment and realization of opportunities are strung on it themselves.

Let the newspaper fade, but it will not die. People will still enjoy a cup of coffee with looking through the rustling pages in the morning.

Winter fun, Gorky park in Moscow, 1964

About vision:

– We live in an era where the image dominates. But humanity can die from laziness and uncurious eyes.

Soviet artist, clown Yuri Nikulin

Viktor boasts a huge collection of autographs, his photographs signed by celebrities. The number exceeds 300 items, among them – autographs of Soviet actor Yuri Nikulin, writer Korney Chukovsky, poet Bulat Okudzhava.

Bella Akhmadullina, Anatoly Solzhenitsyn

About Poetry:

– One should be friends with the poetry. It quickly finds a way out of many dead ends, political fractures, quicker than prose, and even journalism. Poets have a cosmic connection, it helps them.

Since the age of forty, Viktor began to pick up poems to each of his work. Each of his exhibition – a harmonious union of photography and poetry.

About the Bible:

– I’ll tell you about the Bible, so you know where the picture went. To quote:

“And God said,” Let there be light “and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ”

This means that the picture – a divine invention. And in the beginning was not the word, it was art. The main thing – to be creative to see. And the word – is seen as a consequence.”