One would think that photo manipulation, i.e. Photoshop, is just a modern invention but in fact it has been played with since the beginnings of photography. We will see now how this plays an important role on the public image portrayed in the Soviet times that was fundamental to keep the reputation of the regime; and for that reason all propaganda and official records were carefully manipulated to be just perfect.
It is quite funny to think that with all the digital photo manipulation technology that we work today there are still examples of really bad results, when the photographers back in the early 20th century could actually produce quite remarkable results with the analog resources they had. Besides the occasional touch up here and there to make someone more attractive, the most interesting modifications are the ones that add completely new elements to the picture or the other way around: the methodic removal of non-gracious people of the regime. You can see how Trotsky has been systematically deleted from all the official photographs, stating the totalitarianism of the government regards the public portray of it. If you're in Moscow before July 2012, you can still catch the exposition with all these little gems of Soviet photography.
