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Russia's labours

These tinted slides show Soviet Russia shortly after the Russian Revolution, and focus in particular on the lives of the general population. They include photographs of peasants in the famine area, the destruction of bridges, people at leisure and work, a Soviet propaganda train and new child welfare measures (including health care, education and facilities at an orphanage or children's camp). Unfortunately we do not have Henry Sara's captions to accompany these slides.

Slides for a companion lecture on 'Russia's struggle' (the revolutions of 1917 and the civil war) are also available, as are a small number of more explicit photographs of famine victims which Sara chose not to use in his lectures.

Most of the slides were produced by the Victor Animatograph Company of Davenport, Iowa, USA, and were ironically probably intended for use in anti-Bolshevik lectures in the United States during the 1920s. It is likely that Henry Sara purchased them during his 1922 lecture tour of the USA, where he spoke on behalf of the Friends of Soviet Russia. A advertisement for "Communist Party. Lantern lecture, Victoria Baths, Sun., Dec. 28th, Henry Sara on "Russia's Labours." Illustrated by over 150 slides..." is included in the Nottingham Evening Post of 27 December 1924.

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[Document reference for this set of slides: MSS.15B/5/1/13]