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 USSR1972 - 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, 1980In 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» magazineAfter 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.