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Primary sourcePhotograph1918

Yakov Sverdlov in a Railway Wagon, 1918

1918

A photograph of Sverdlov seated at a desk, taken in 1918 while he traveled by rail on government business.

This photograph depicts Sverdlov himself at work during his travels as a Soviet official in 1918.

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Black and white halftone photograph of a man with curly dark hair and round wire-rimmed glasses, with a goatee, seated at a desk with his head resting on his hand. Papers and an ashtray are on the desk, and a dark background is behind him.
Photograph of Yakov Sverdlov, 1918.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white photograph shows a man with curly dark hair, round wire-rimmed glasses, and a goatee, seated at a desk with his head resting on his hand, papers and an ashtray in front of him. It was taken in 1918 and shows Yakov Sverdlov travelling by rail during a period when he toured the country on government business.

Why it matters

Sverdlov was a leading Soviet politician in the earliest years of the Soviet state, and images like this one capture him at work during the chaos and travel of the Russian Civil War period, when government business was often conducted on the move.

Look closer

  • What does the setting (a desk in a train wagon) suggest about the pace of his work?
  • What does his posture and expression suggest about the demands placed on him?
  • What is missing from this image that might tell us more about where he was going or why?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Yakov Sverdlov on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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