Pictures of Kyiv from the archive of Ukrainian photographer Alexander Ranchukov

Street photographer and architecture connoisseur Oleksandr Ranchukov has created a huge number of pictures of old Kyiv in 76 years of his life. Here he was born, studied at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, wrote several books about the capital. The photographer knew the city streets well and directed the camera not only at Khreshchatyk, the circus building and other popular places and buildings. He was interested in everyday life, fleeting scenes that can be captured quite by accident.

In most of Ranchukov's works, one can see how he literally explored Kyiv architecture with scientific pedantry. And yet the objects of interest to him - roads, buildings, residents - do not appear before us in a detached way, but as separate pieces of stories. Frozen moments are completely ordinary for their time, and this is their value. The work of Ranchukov strongly influenced the further development of Ukrainian documentary photography.

Ranchukov exhibited not only in Ukraine, but also abroad: in the USA, France, Germany, Lithuania. He was invited to collaborate with architectural magazines, in addition, the photographer worked for 18 years at the Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning. An important aspect for the promotion of photography in the Soviet period was the formation of the Poglyad creative association, which also included Efrem Lukatsky and Rita Ostrovskaya. However, many Poglyad projects were never implemented or were interrupted due to the intervention of representatives of the Soviet authorities. You can find and purchase old pictures of Kyiv on Violity.