Russia’s first photo exhibitions Photography in Russia reached new heights at the turn of the 20th century in terms of its professionalism and artistic sophistication. In fact, apart from serving as an exclusively artistic genre, it started playing a prominent role in research and manufacturing. For thisreason, it was quite natural for the first photo exhibitions to start taking place in the country. One photo exhibition opened in St. Petersburg in 1888 with 820 images by 138 authors, including works by industrialist Semyon Abamelek-Lazarev from Leo Tolstoi’s Yasnaya Polyana estate, interior images by Ivan Boldyrev, photos by Grigory Grum-Guzhailo’sexpedition to Central Asia and Western Mongolia, as well as Ernest Redlikh’s reproductions of Ivan Avaizovsky’s paintings. The National Photography Exhibition opened in Moscow one year later. It presented photo equipment, as well as images on the evolution of photography as an art form in Russia. Just a few years later, in 1903, the St. Petersburg Photography Society organized an International Photography Exhibition which included 197 participants from eight countries. Later, photographers had an even bigger choice of exhibitions and contests. There were exhibitions ofarchitectural photography, and photo exhibitions for the manufacturing sector. On a special note, we must mention an exhibition held by the photography club at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, which included works by over 300 students. Follow our updates to find out more about major photo exhibitions in and outside Russia. #stenincontest