Алма Ата / Alma Ata 1950

Алма-Ата в 1950-е
Фотографии Cемен Фридлянд

Alma Ata in 1950
Photographs by Semyon Friedland

Here I present a series of photographs of Alma-Ata, by the Soviet journalist & photographer Semyon Friedland.

Alma Ata, nowadays, Almaty, is located in the mountains of Southern Kazakhstan. A settlement on the site of the city goes back to Prehistoric times… But it was not until the Middle Ages (8-10th centuries) that a township was formally established. Modern Alma Ata, can be traced to the mid 19th century when a Russian fort, Verniy was constructed here. In 1867 the fort was transformed into a town.
In 1918, Soviet power was established in Verniy. The city and the region became part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
On 5 February 1921 it was decided to rename Verniy to Alma-Ata.
On 31 January 1928, Leon Trotsky, leader of the 1917 October Revolution, accompanied by his wife Natalia Sedova and his son Lev Sedov, was exiled to Alma Ata by the then head of the Bolshevik party, Joseph Stalin. Trotsky was expelled from Alma-Ata to Turkey in February 1929……
During the Great Patriotic war, Alma-Ata became one of the largest industrial centres of the Soviet Union, as many factories were moved here from European Russia to escape being captured by Nazi troops.

Music:
"Matasha's Waltz" from 'Peter & The Wolf' by S. Prokofiev