Iosif-Rafail Diament

Russian, 1907–1987

BiographyIosif-Rafail (Robert) L'vovich Diament (1907-1987)

Diament was born in city Kiev. He is from Jewish family where he was named Iosif (Russian spelling of Josef) - Rafail. Diament family was saved during the Jewish pogroms and Civil war. Iosif-Rafail started to work as the electrician at the factory and the staff-off employer in one of Kiev's newspapers in 1927.
In 1931 Diament was a photo correspondent in Kiev newspaper "Molodoy proletariy (Young Proletarian)", where he was quite successful, and in 1934 Diament was invited for the position of photo reporter in main Ukrainian newspaper "Visti CIK URSR (News of Central Active Committee of Ukrainian Workers Social Republic)". In 1937 Diament moved for Moscow. He was participant of all-Soviet Union and foreign photo exhibitions and was published in the central media. He was also published in the only (during all Soviet time) photo magazine "Sovetskoe PHOTO" (since 1926).

The pictures by Diament from collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, are from his Ukrainian period.
\\\\\ Iosif-Rafail (Robert) Diament ,
>> Nationality unknown, worked in Soviet Union (Jewish, Soviet Union)
>> Rooster, New "Borkowskoi" breed, Chicken Farm, Kharkov Region, Ukraine
>> 1936
>> Gelatin silver photograph
>> The Manfred Heiting Collection
>> [Aylsworth, David] 2002.2527

As you understood from my proposal of his early period, Diament was involved for work in the main communist newspaper in Ukrainian Republic, so, he traveled a lot around all Ukrain. By the lows of that time he had to reduce all his work negatives to editorial office of his newspaper. But, as many other photoreporters, in newspaper he left the negatives of the pictures which were published in the newspaper and/or made inter-negatives or second negatives of the plots which were good not only for publishing in the newspaper but also for exhibiting.

By the signature of the picture "Robert Diament", I can propose, that the picture was printed in the end of 1940s or the beginning of 1950s for any exhibition of Soviet Photography.

After the beginning of Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941 - USSR came into the WWII) Diament had been called into autobattalion of field army (Red Army) but in April 1942 he had been moved to the position of the photo correspondent at the North Fleet (Navy Service?) of Soviet Union and in summer 1942 Diament was in the position of the chief of Photo Bureau of Political Board (Administration?) of the North Fleet. At the same time Diament saved the possibility to work as a photo reporter in the field parts of the Fleet. He took part in war operations near Murmansk and on the North European region, he took part in landing operations and in torpedo operations of Navy Air Forces. In 1944 Diament took part in the special operation under the Soviet Government support - the campaign of few Soviet warships to England for accompany and support of British and American transport from England to Murmansk (realization of lend-l. agreement for the help to Soviet army against fascists). Diament had been awarded by the award of Red Banner after the publication of the photo reportage on this campaign. The second Red Banner was given him for the participation in the war operation near Petsamo (clearing of Kola peninsula).

After the end of WWII, in time of deep struggle against cosmopolitism and in time of Stalin anti-Semites police, Diament lost his job for the main medias in Moscow, and, as many other original Jewish photo journalists, started to work in small magazines. For example, main place of work for Diament in 1949-1950s was the magazine "Club and Folk Amateur Perfomances" (where Evgeny Khaldey, Samary Gurary and Yakov Khalip also worked). By the specific of that time Iosif-Rafail Diament changed his own name to "neutral" Robert. His colleagues named him Roba Diament. In "Club and FAP" magazine Diament started to make color photo reportage.
He worked in different magazines and newspapers during all his life. Died at the beginning of Perestroika era in 1987.

Exhibitions:
One-man show*
Gallery Russkoe Pole, Moscow, 1997
"Robert Diament. North Fleet in the Fights for the Native Land" - Media Center of Izvestia newspaper, June 2003

Few Selected Shows:
Soviet War Photography. Dedicated to 40th anniversary of Great Victory. - Exhibition Hall of Union of Journalists, Moscow, May 1985.
150 years of Photography - Exhibition Hall Bolshoy Manege, Moscow, January 1989
Aviation, from series Transport of XX c. - Polytechnical Museum, Moscow, August 2000
Body and Movement - within the frameworks of Photo Biennale 2002, Moscow, May 2002

Diament photos were shown in documentary film on Russian and Soviet photography "Vzglyad (Look)", film-director Vinogradov V., Lentelefilm Studio, Leningrad 1986. 28'10"

Collections:
Union of PhotoArtists of Russia
Archive of Museum of Red Banner North Fleet
Archive of State Museum of Russian Military Fleet
Gallery Russkoe Pole (I am not sure, that the gallery is still exist)

Publications:
Few pictures were published in the magazine "Sovetskoe PHOTO" in 1930s;
Portfolio and special article on Diamnet was published in Sovetskoe PHOTO in 1962;
Yury Krivonosov - Rafail (Robert) Diament. Central Jewish Information resource, Moscow, 2002
Gregory Chudakov - Robert Diament. In magazine Potrebitel', 2/2002

Few photos by Diament were published in Soviet photo albums dedicated to WWII.*

* Unfortunately I have the information only about the exhibitions and publication since 1985 mainly in Moscow, so, I can not cover the Soviet period of Diament's exhibitions and publications.

© Irina Tchmyreva. Moscow 2003

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