The Commissar Vanishes

This article is about the book. For the man commonly referred to as the "Vanishing Commissar", see Nikolai Yezhov.

The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia is a 1997 book by David King about the censoring of photographs and fraudulent creation of "photographs" in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union through silent alteration via airbrushing and other techniques. It has an introduction by Stephen F. Cohen.^[1][2]

The Commissar Vanishes
The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia

Author	David King
Language	English
Subject	Art, history, politics
Publisher	Canongate Books Ltd (United Kingdom) Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt (United States)
Publication date	October 1997
Publication place	United Kingdom
Pages	192
ISBN	978-0-86241-724-6
OCLC	59592918

Album

Music for David King's Book The Commissar Vanishes The Fall of Icarus
Studio album by Michael Nyman
Released	8 November 1999 (United Kingdom) November 18, 1999 (United States)
Genre	Contemporary classical, minimalism
Label	Virgin Venture, EMI
Michael Nyman chronology
Wonderland (1999) Music for David King's Book The Commissar Vanishes The Fall of Icarus (1999) Nabbie's Love (1999)

Michael Nyman created a companion album of the same title in 1999. The second disc of the two-disc album contains The Fall of Icarus, the score to an eponymous art installation by Peter Greenaway from 1986 which had previously been unreleased. The first disc, The Commissar Vanishes, is a version of The Fall of Icarus that has been defaced similarly to the photographs reproduced in King's book.

Track listing

Disc 1: The Commissar Vanishes

1. Earth In Turmoil
2. Jealousy And Revenge
3. Look Out For An Enemy!
4. Ordinary Citizens
5. A Swift Exit

Disc: 2: The Fall of Icarus

1. Disaster
2. Wings
3. Walls
4. Water
5. Utopia

Documentary

A documentary was made about David King and The Commissar Vanishes called, Facing the Dead by Gabrielle Pfeiffer. The film was commissioned by Arte and broadcast internationally. It won the "Golden Gate Award" at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

References

1. Machmut-Jhashi, Tamara (Oakland University) (November 1998). "The Commissar Vanishes: Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia, Review". H-Russia. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
2. King, David (October 15, 1997). The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia (Hardcover) (1 ed.). New York, NY: Metropolitan Books. p. 192. ISBN 0805052941. Retrieved December 22, 2016.

External links

• "Commissar Vanishes". Archived from the original on 2014-08-09 – via Internet archive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)