A Photographic Trove Of Village Life In Postwar Ukraine (9 of 29 b/w pics)

https://www.rferl.org/a/life-in-postwar-ukraine-photography-trove-discovered/31002026.html

In the attic of an old house, artist Ihor Solodovnikov stumbled on a collection of 5,000 photographs taken by his grandfather, Ivan Lytvyn. The images preserve the faces of Ukrainian villagers in the postwar period and the folk traditions that were rarely, if ever, captured by official Soviet photographers.

The unique find documents how rural Ukrainians lived and worked, what they wore, and how they spent their precious free time. The photos also reveal the transformations taking place in Ukraine from the late 1950s to the early '70s as local customs gave way to Soviet influence.

In 2010, Solodovnikov and his family were preparing to sell Lytvyn's house in the Cherkasy region. Solodovnikov was sorting through rubbish in the attic when he found his grandfather's old suitcase, filled with photographic accessories. But he didn't explore the contents closely until two years ago, when he noticed the rolls of film left by Lytvyn. Solodovnikov started working to digitize the photographs.






Lytvyn's sister Yaryna, seen here as an adult, survived the Holodomor with the help of her brother.


Raisa Lytvyn, the photographer's daughter






World War II veterans from the village of Hrushkivka