Valentina Bukhanevich-Antonova’s summer dress, 1938/39 Antonova (1907-1993) was wearing th

Valentina Bukhanevich-Antonova’s summer dress, 1938/39

Antonova (1907-1993) was wearing this dress when she was arrested, and continued to wear it continuously for an entire year during her stay in three Moscow prisons. She was part of the “Great Purge” of the Stalinist era, during which millions of people, particularly political party members, were arrested for arbitrary reasons, such as being part of an opposition or nationalist group, or even sustaining brief contact with someone who had already been denounced and arrested.

Antonova’s dress shows extreme wear, but also an effort to maintain a sense of decency in her horrific surroundings. The hem and sleeves, for instance, show many attempts at patching up holes and tears, undoubtedly done on the sly. Antonova was ultimately not convicted, and released in 1939 [x].