Smirnov Valentin Prokhorovich

Genus. in 1928 in Leningrad; Russian; b/p; higher education. Lived in Leningrad. In 1956, he was detained for two days in the detention center on Liteiny (KGB) for publicly discussing the problems of contemporary art after the Picasso exhibition in the Hermitage. He worked as a loader at Lengortop. Arrested on 06/01/1960 by the KGB Directorate under the USSR Council of Ministers for the Leningrad Region for producing and distributing a leaflet “For Peace and Democracy!”, in which he called on peoples for peace and cooperation.. Charged under Art. 7 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. By the decision of the College for Criminal Cases of the Leningrad City Court dated 08/09/1960, a criminal case on the basis of Art. 11 of the Criminal Code was terminated and he was sent for compulsory treatment to a special hospital. On 10/16/1961 he was sent under the supervision of a psychoneurological dispensary at his place of residence. Participant of the first independent photography exhibition in Leningrad “Under the Parachute”. 10/26/1974. In the late 70s, he became a member of the feminist club “Maria” and distributed its illegal magazine. Forced to leave the USSR on January 30, 1981. Lived in Paris. Over 30 years, he held more than 90 exhibitions in Paris, Cologne, Munich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Jerusalem and other cities. In 2004 he returned to Russia.