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Primary sourcePhotograph1918

Yakov Sverdlov Portrait, 1918

1918

A 1918 photographic portrait of Yakov Sverdlov, taken during his chairmanship of the Soviet executive committee.

A portrait of Sverdlov from the year of his chairmanship of the VTsIK, a time of major upheaval in the new Soviet state.

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Black and white halftone reproduction of a portrait of a bearded man in round wire-rimmed glasses, wearing a fur hat and a dark buttoned coat with a checked collar. Russian caption text printed along the bottom reads the subject's name and title.
Yakov Sverdlov, photographic portrait, 1918. Scanned and processed by Mariluna.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white halftone photographic portrait of Yakov Sverdlov from 1918, showing him wearing glasses, a fur hat and a dark coat. The image is a scanned and processed reproduction with a printed Russian caption giving his name and title.

Why it matters

The portrait dates from the year Sverdlov served as chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK), a period that included the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the start of the Red Terror. As such images were often used for official recognition, it shows how the new state presented its leaders to the public.

Look closer

  • What does Sverdlov's clothing and expression suggest about how he wanted to be seen?
  • Why would a government print and circulate portrait photographs of its leaders?
  • What does this image not tell you about the events happening in 1918?

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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Portrait of Yakov Sverdlov

1919

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