Working for “Ogonyok” magazine

From the 1960s to the 1980s Alexander Nagralyan worked as a photo correspondent at “Ogonyok” magazine. That collaboration, which lasted for more than a quarter of a century, became the longest and most important step in his professional career.

At that time, “Ogonyok” was one of the main illustrated current affairs publications in the USSR, with a print-run in the millions and a nationwide readership. Working as a photographer involved a high level of responsibility, upholding the editorial standards of a top media outlet, as well as being highly prestigious.

During his time there, Alexander Nagralyan produced photo reports about the major Soviet construction projects and factories, portraits of cultural and scientific figures, features on topical subjects, and much more besides. Over 100 of his photographs appeared on the cover of the magazine, testifying to the respect he enjoyed amongst the editors and their trust in his professionalism and unique style.

Nagralyan’s photographic works for the magazine over more than 25 years have become important visual documents of the period and form a valuable resource for the study of Soviet photojournalism.