Soviet Space Propaganda: Doctored Cosmonaut Photos

Lies and half-truths have a way of catching up to you, largely because nobody has a good enough memory to be a successful liar for long. The Soviet side of the 1960s space race is a particularly graphic example of this. The Soviet Union's string of space triumphs over the United States was tarnished by a series of falsifications that surfaced and cast doubt on all their accomplishments, even the genuine ones.

Those doubts are encouraged by a series of photographs of the cosmonaut team, released in the 1970s, in which some individuals have been airbrushed out of scenes. The photo-doctoring was discovered because Soviet news managers lost track of which versions of photos had already been published, and re-released them after alteration.

(via ackackack)