Устинов, Александр Васильевич

Photographer

Born Moscow, 1909

Died Moscow, 1995

After working as a locksmith’s apprentice, Ustinov began his professional career as a cameraman at the State Institute of Film in Moscow. In 1930 he was mobilized by the government to take part in activities related to the collectivization of the country. Ustinov took up photography in the 1930s and was soon working as a free-lance correspondent for the publications Krasnaia Voin (Red Warrior) and Krasnaia Zvezda (Red Star). From 1935 to 1937 Ustinov photographed the construction of the Moscow subway. In 1937 he gained major recognition as a photographer when a panoramic view of the Moscow hills was chosen for the cover of the magazine Ogonek. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Ustinov documented many of the events taking place as the country progressed towards collectivization. Many of his photographs of worker heroes of industrialization have become classic images from this era of Soviet photography. During World War II Ustinov was a war correspondent for Pravda.

1972

1975-76