Internet and Society: Virtual project “Great Russian Album. The whole Russia through faces and biographies from family archives” shown off in Moscow

On January 17th 2012 Alexander Solzhenitsyn Russia Abroad House (Moscow) is presenting a new project known as “Great Russian Album. The whole Russia through faces and biographies from family archives”.

The “Great Russian Album” website and virtual project appeared in May 2008. The purpose of the project is to build the national biographical photograph collection through gathering and publication of photographs originating from family albums and private family archives accompanied by biographical information on people in the photographs.

This is an open volunteer project – it means that it is available to all those who take an interest and may be freely viewed. As for today, “Great Russian Album” website is the largest Russian online thematic collection of historical and biographical photographs. The project’s ever-growing database numbers over 18 000 photographs spanning the time between the 1850s and 1950s. The project involves more than 1300 active participants not just from Russia but also from many countries oversees.

The project’s presentation will open with a photo exposition from the “Great Russian Album” web portal’s gallery. The event will attract heads and active participants of the project, experts in photography and archiving, amateurs of historical photographs.