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'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka

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The “Invasion – Prague 68” series, which made Magnum’s Josef Koudelka the world’s most famous anonymous photographer and forced him into exile, are on display at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow.

The “Invasion – Prague 68” series, which made Magnum’s Josef Koudelka the world’s most famous anonymous photographer and forced him into exile, are on display at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow.

© RIA Novosti . Ilia Pitalev / Go to the mediabankThe “Invasion – Prague 68” series, which made Magnum’s Josef Koudelka the world’s most famous anonymous photographer and forced him into exile, are on display at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow.
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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The “Invasion – Prague 68” series, which made Magnum’s Josef Koudelka the world’s most famous anonymous photographer and forced him into exile, are on display at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow.
© Photo : Josef Koudelka Dozens of black-and-white photographs show the streets of Prague in August 1968 after Soviet tanks rolled into the city…
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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Dozens of black-and-white photographs show the streets of Prague in August 1968 after Soviet tanks rolled into the city…
© Photo : Josef Koudelka …and everyone – soldiers and Prague residents alike – waited to see how it would end as both sides issued contradictory information.
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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…and everyone – soldiers and Prague residents alike – waited to see how it would end as both sides issued contradictory information.
© Photo : Josef Koudelka Tension builds during the relatively calm first days of the invasion…
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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Tension builds during the relatively calm first days of the invasion…
© Photo : Josef Koudelka …but those photographs give way to images of burning tanks and barricades.
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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…but those photographs give way to images of burning tanks and barricades.
© Photo : Josef Koudelka The tension in the photographs is heightened by the soundtrack playing in the background, which sounds like a possible countdown to your execution or perhaps a last minute pardon.
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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The tension in the photographs is heightened by the soundtrack playing in the background, which sounds like a possible countdown to your execution or perhaps a last minute pardon.
© Photo : Josef Koudelka The photographs depict vivid emotions – the embarrassment and tiredness of soldiers ordered to invade a country whose residents are ready to fight for their freedom to the last.
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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The photographs depict vivid emotions – the embarrassment and tiredness of soldiers ordered to invade a country whose residents are ready to fight for their freedom to the last.
© RIA Novosti . Ilia Pitalev / Go to the mediabankThe series “Invasion – Prague 68” changed the life of the photographer, who at the time was 30 years old. Koudelka did not think of publishing the photographs when he shot them. But when Magnum President Elliott Erwitt saw them, he asked Koudelka for the negatives and promised to keep his name secret for safety reasons.
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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The series “Invasion – Prague 68” changed the life of the photographer, who at the time was 30 years old. Koudelka did not think of publishing the photographs when he shot them. But when Magnum President Elliott Erwitt saw them, he asked Koudelka for the negatives and promised to keep his name secret for safety reasons.
© RIA Novosti . Ilia Pitalev / Go to the mediabankThe photographs were signed P.P. – Prague Photographer – and soon made Koudelka the most famous anonymous photographer in the world.
Photo: Josef Koudelka and his daughter Leticia at the exhibition, “Invasion – Prague 68.”
'Prague Spring' photographs by Josef Koudelka  - Sputnik International
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The photographs were signed P.P. – Prague Photographer – and soon made Koudelka the most famous anonymous photographer in the world.
Photo: Josef Koudelka and his daughter Leticia at the exhibition, “Invasion – Prague 68.”
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