About Me

Education

I was born in Kazan, USSR, in 1945.

1964-1970: studies in Kazan Aviation Institute, played saxophone in a students big band. After graduatation worked for two years in the Soviet Space Center Baikonur as a radio engineer. I bought my first camera in 1965 and immediately got addiction for street life photography.

Professional activity in the USSR

1972-1979: Trade Union of graphic artists where I made illustrations for books, magazines and disc covers. The door into official big press was closed for me because of my good relationship with dissidents and unofficial artists.

1974-1979: I organised many expositions of then unofficial artists in my apartment. I showed Mikhail Chemiakin, who was in Paris that time, several groupe expositions of artists from Leningrad, Odessa and also made the only exposition of jewish artists.

France, 1980

In February I became the first soviet photographer who came to the West with archives of everyday life in the USSR. I showed my photos to Gokshin Sipahioglou, the head of SIPA Press in Paris, and in an hour we were met by Michel Sola and Roger Theron in «Paris Match» office. The magazine immediately published 44 pages of my photographs with interview. In May publications followed with 55 pages with cover in «Stern», four issues of italian «Oggi», 12 pages in american «Life» magazine, etc. I became the most published photographer in the world in 1980.

After «Life» magazine came out, I was invited by Larry King to his three hours midnight radio program and then by Tom Brokaw, Peter Jenning and Dan Rather to their prime time TV news shows.

French «Vogues» magazine

After the «Paris Match» publication, the great Helmut Newton found me and we became friends till his departure in Los Angeles. He convinced Roger Gaillet, French «Vogue» director, to give me a test work. It was 5 days of the High Fashion shows in July which I covered under the guidence of Francine Cressant, the editor-in-chief. As first films were developed and before the last YSL fashion show, I already had a contract with the magazine and 40 pages of my work «Haute Couture vu par Vladimir Sichov» were published in September 1980.

• 1981: american «Vogue» for the first time presents french High Fashion publicity pictures from podium with me as photographer.
• October 1980: «The Russians seen by Vladimir Sichov» comes out in France, USA, Italy, Norway and Sweden.
• 1980-1982: collaboration with french «Vogue» - fashion and its designers.
• 1980-2010: as a photographer of SIPA Press I covered international historic events: The fall of the Berlin Wall, The fall of Nikolae Ceaucescu, I spent three days with Mikhail Gorbatchev after his abdication, two putches in Moscow where I was wounded with a bullet. I also covered french Presidents campaigns and trips (Valery Giscard D’Estaing, Francois Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy). Sports: Soccer World Cups, Olympic Games etc.
• 1981: I was celected among 100 world top photographers to participate in «A Day in the Life of Australia» book project.
• 1985: «Iceland Crucible» with my photos comes out about artistic community in Iceland. «Taize, la source» with text by Brother Roger about french eucumenical community comes out in France and several other countries.
• 1986: again I am invited to be among 100 top photographers to make «A Day in the Life of America».

Expositions and black & white photography

• 1966-2012: street life in different countries and photos of artists.
• 1980-1982: several expositions in France.
• 1986: Lucien Clergue invites me to Arles photo festival with my «East-West» project.
• 2009: Tretiakov Gallery. I am invited as special guest to Moscow Biennale where I had shown my street life and artists from USSR period.
  French photos and artists were presented in «Na Vspolnom» gallery in the same time.
  «Russky Mir» gallery in Paris makes my personal exhibition.
• 2011: «1+9» a book initiated by writer Vladimir Zagreba and written by nine writers about one photographer (Vladimir Sichov) published in Germany.
• 2012: «Letters to Yves» - Pierre Berge letters to Yves Saint Laurent with my photo on the cover.
  «My Yves Saint Laurent» book by Katia Pertsova with my photos published in Moscow.