Samariy Gurariy (1916 - 1998) was a Soviet photojournalist who began his career in 1934, photographing for the Moscow newspaper Izvestia. He became the favorite photocorrespondent of Stalin and was present and working at many of the most historic events of Stalin's career, such as the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences as well as covering the Soviet-Nazi front during the Second World War. According to writer George Alexander, Gurariy also “. . . photographed Molotov at the opening ceremonies of the United Nations, Khruschev’s historic Moscow meeting with Fidel Castro, Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Leonid Brezhnev and many of the early cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.” The photographer decided to immigrate to the United States after the collapse of the Soviet Union, smuggling a series of prints through Israel along the way before arriving in America in 1995. These prints are now in the collection of Anya Tish Gallery, and, according to his widow, are the only Gurariy prints outside of Russia. Today in Russia, he is regarded by photographic historians as the equal of Baltermans, Khaldei and Shaikhet.Excerpts from “Samariy Gurariy: An Introduction to the Life and Works” by George Alexander