15 PHOTOS by Igor Palmin, a remarkable Soviet photographer

Igor Palmin's (1933-2025) creative style was inspired by avant-garde and modernist art movements. His photographic method was shaped by the influence of unofficial Soviet art, which he chronicled via his shots. Take a look at some of his iconic photos below.

Derozhinskaya's Mansion. Interior Staircase, 1996. From the ‘Moscow Mansions’ series.

Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery
Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery

A group of hippies hanging out by the entrance to an exhibition at the ‘House of Culture’ pavilion, VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy), 1975.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

The St. Sergius Trinity Lavra, 1990.

Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery
Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery

Installation of Oleg Tselkov's work in the ‘Beekeeping’ pavilion at VDNKh, 1975.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

An exhibition in the ‘Beekeeping’ pavilion at VDNKh, 1975.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

An apartment building in Moscow, 1989.

Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery
Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery

The ‘Hatch the eggs!’ art installation by the ‘Gnezdo’ (Nest) art group (Gennady Donskoy, Mikhail Roshal and Viktor Skersis), 1975.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

The Moscow State University’s main building, 2002.

Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery
Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery

Artist Vladimir Yankilevsky posing in his studio on Preobrazhenskaya Street, 1974.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

The Central Theater of the Red Army, 1989.

Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery
Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery

Artist Oscar Rabin emigrates with his family, 1978.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

A statue by the St. Petersburg Manege, 1999.

Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery
Igor Palmin/Lumier Gallery

Twelve minutes to six on the Red Square, the 1960s.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

Collector George Costakis posing against the background of the works of Wassily Kandinsky, 1974.

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

Before the emigration of writer Vasily Aksenov, 1980

Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru
Igor Palmin/russiainphoto.ru

(pictured from left to right: playwrights Grigory Gorin and Mikhail Roshchin, writer Vasily Aksenov, poets Zoya Boguslavskaya and Andrei Voznesensky).