Pictures in the Soviet Northern discourse of the 30s (based on the materials of the newspaper «Khanty-Mansi Shop (Shoy) / Ostyako-Vogulskaya Pravda»)

Introduction: a notable phenomenon of modern historiography is the visual turn, which presupposes the study of history as the history of images. The subject of the research is the images published in the newspaper «Khanty-Mansi Shop (Shoy). Ostyako-Vogulskaya Pravda» in 1931–1939. Objective: presentation of the ethno-cultural segment of the visual range of the newspaper and on this basis the determination of its communicative capabilities in relations with the viewer-reader from among the indigenous peoples of the North. Research materials: newspaper images, works of theorists and practitioners of the photo department, party documents of the pre-war period. Results and novelty of the research: the classification of ethno-images is given; the connection between the dynamics of their publication and the socio-political trends in the country’s development has been clarified. As a common feature of ethno-images, their conventionality and simplicity are shown, which correlates with the peculiarities of the «northern style» in the visual arts of the Ob Ugrians. The weakness of the visual range is shown, which hindered the transformation of the newspaper into a mass, nationally oriented publication. The scientific novelty is determined both by the visual approach itself, and by the introduction into scientific circulation of a complex of images of the Ostyako-Vogul newspaper; observations and conclusions can be used in the preparation of the corresponding section of the academic history of Yugra, as well as special courses on the history of journalism.