The Soyuzphoto/TASS central photography courses (1936–1941) and the massovization of photographic education in the USSR

Section: History of Journalism

This article examines the activities of the Soyuzphoto/TASS Central Photography Courses, which were established in Moscow in 1936. Initially operating within the Soyuzphoto Educational Combine until late 1938, the courses were later transferred to TASS and presumably dissolved in 1941. The research is based on archival documents from state collections (GA RF, RGAE, RGALI) and personal archives, as well as press publications and educational brochures. According to published reports, by mid-1940, approximately 6,300 people had been trained at the Central Photography Courses, making it likely the most extensive educational initiative in the field of photography in the pre-war USSR. The correspondence format enabled students from various regions of the Soviet Union, including industrial workers, to participate. For the first time in the history of the USSR and Russia, a dedicated Photo Correspondents’ Department was established to train photographers for the press. Another significant outcome was the publication of a series of educational and methodological brochures, which not only reflected the systematic nature of the program but also hold historical value today, nearly a century later.

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To cite this article: Romakina M. I. (2025) Tsentral‘nye kursy fotografii «Soyuzfoto»/TASS (1936–1941 gg.) i massovizatsiya fotoobrazovaniya v SSSR [The Soyuzphoto/TASS central photography courses (1936–1941) and the massovization of photographic education in the USSR]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 1: 168–191. DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.1.2025.168191