Family archives of the residents of the Luhansk Region

Abstract

The article is based on the materials from the family archives of residents of the Luhansk region, digitized as part of the project “Donbas: Family Photo Archive” during the expeditions of 2018–2019. The material (both amateur photographs and studio shots) predominantly dates back to the 1960–80-s, a time of flourishing amateur photography, but chronologically it covers the entire 20th century, including pre-revolutionary photographs and also pictures from the 1990-s. The narrative composition of the photo archives is characterized; special attention is paid to the representation of family life chronicles and the preservation of memories of various significant events, such as weddings (civil registry office registration, newlyweds visiting memorials, wedding celebration participants dressing up, etc.), the birth of a child, the child’s life (in particular, starting school and graduation events), home celebrations of New Year’s Eve and family members’ birthdays, military service (in particular, taking the oath), participation in May Day and November 7th demonstrations, and finally, funerals. Besides, the archives contain photographs of family members, their friends, and relatives (such photographs were customarily given as mementos, as evidenced by inscriptions on the back): photography, in addition to capturing family scenes, had a communicative function. The author also describes a database created on the Daminion platform by himself, which provides the ability to tag uploaded media files and search by keywords. A list of keywords characterizing the subjects of the Donbas photo archive and the number of photographs tagged accordingly is provided.