Iconic images of the Soviet era take theirplace among never-seen-before imagesfrom Mikhail Markov-Grinberg, one ofthe greatest Russian photographersof the 20th century. Markov-Grinberg(1907-2006) is perhaps best known forhis pictures of Red Stars replacing Double-headed Eagles on the Kremlin towers,or his portrait of miner Nikita Izotov– images which helped to defi ne theculture of the USSR in the 1930s and recordeda fast-changing society emerginginto a new world. The pictures chosen forthis new publication refl ect many of thethemes that obsessed Markov-Grinbergduring a creative life which saw himranked alongside the likes of Rodchenkoin the annals of great Soviet image-makers.Refl ecting half a century of Russianhistory, his images combine the marchof industrialization and aviation with rural images and pictures of childhood. Warfootage and portraits of the famous contribute to the formal history of the nation.