Hyperboles in Newspaper Photographs: A Case Study of Khalmg Ünn’s (‘The Kalmyk Pravda’) Issues, 1957–1961

Introduction. Photography is a visual source of information, and its unique character has been recognized by numerous researchers. Newspaper photographs tend to mirror both a historical era proper and daily life of its inhabitants. Goals. The paper aims at analyzing the ‘essential messages’ of photographs published by Khalmg Ünn (‘The Kalmyk Pravda’) newspaper in 1957–1961. The periodical is an ethnic-oriented print media to have published — and still does — Kalmyk language materials. Materials and Methods. The continuous sampling method was employed to extract photographs from newspaper issues of 1957–1961. So, a total of 4,000 units were analyzed, but the study primarily focuses on pictures that were taken by local photographers in the territory of the Kalmyk ASSR. Photographs by TASS were involved to trace similar trends through comparison with regional photographic images. Conclusions. The study shows that photographic materials of Khalmg Ünn (‘The Kalmyk Pravda’) highlight different artistic trends manifested in the eclectic patterns compiled from both Socialist realism and the ‘severe style’ (the latter characterized by romantic heroification of strenuous laborers). Just in two years the newspaper images rapidly evolutionized from mere shots to photographic pictures created through the use of diverse means and methods, e.g., that of hyperbolization achieved via different camera angles and glass prism techniques. Newspaper photographers turned to common laborers to show their joys and hardships, everyday life of citizens not involved in party or any other administrative activities. The Khrushchev era gave rise to most essential changes in newspaper photography and the images examined. Further analysis of newspaper materials shall facilitate the development of both regional print media and anthropological studies at large.

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