The Dzerzhinsky Commune: Birth of the Soviet 35mm Camera Industry by Oscar Fricke is the definitive work on the history of the FED rangefinder and the people behind it.

The article was published in History of Photography in 1979, in the pre-Internet era, and I recognized that it will be beneficial to Soviet camera collectors worldwide—now united in several e-mailing lists and forums—to access Oscar Fricke's work on the Web.

I contacted the author with this idea and received his support. I also received permission from the History of Photography's publisher, Taylor and Francis Ltd.

The project is now completed and I am proud to present The Dzerzhinsky Commune: Birth of the Soviet 35mm Camera Industry, by Oscar Fricke, on my website.

The article comes in three formats: a PDF file and two HTML files. You can download the PDF file, print it out and read off-line. The file preserves the original formatting and layout of the magazine version of the article. Most likely your browser has a built-in Adobe Acrobat PDF reader; otherwise you can download it from the Adobe web site. The PDF file is large (10.7 MB), since it includes many photographs.

There are two HTML files for on-line reading. One contains all pictures from the article; you can click on the picture to see its larger version. This file takes some time to load; use it if you have a fast connection (DSL, Cable modem, etc.). The second HTML file is text-only and is recommended for dial-up modem users. You can still see the images, one at a time, by clicking on their titles.

Please select from the choices below:

The Dzerzhinsky Commune: Birth of the Soviet 35mm Camera Industry by Oscar Fricke. PDF file (10.7M)

The Dzerzhinsky Commune: Birth of the Soviet 35mm Camera Industry by Oscar Fricke. HTML file with images (1M)