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Photos of Afghanistan during Soviet Occupation on Display

Photographer and author Bruce Richardson’s photographs about Afghanistan in the 1980s and maps are on display in the Osborne Gallery from December 15, 2021- February 28, 2022.

framed photos hanging on a white wall

Beginning in 1986, photojournalist Bruce Richardson worked for the United States Information Agency (USIA) and conducted photo workshops for the various Afghan news agencies in Peshawar, Pakistan. Richardson and his students took thousands of photographs chronicling the people and places of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which spanned the 1980s. The Soviet invasion and occupation devastated Afghanistan’s infrastructure and population, sending millions to refugee camps in Pakistan. During 1987, 1990, and 1991, Richardson made frequent trips to Afghanistan to report on the war as a free-lance journalist. His stories and photographs were published in the United States and around the world.

Richardson donated hundreds of photographs and transparencies to the UNO Libraries’ Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection over multiple decades. In 2012, UNO Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections received 13 high-quality photographs that illustrate the later years of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. These photos, and others taken by Richardson and his students, are currently part of an exhibit curated by Claire Du Laney, Outreach Archivist. Additional exhibit materials include maps of 20th century Afghanistan and ephemera from the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection.

The exhibit will be on display in the Osborne Gallery from December 15, 2021- February 28, 2022. The gallery is open during Criss Library’s regular hours of operation.

For books authored by Bruce Richardson in UNO Libraries visit the library catalog.

About the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection

In 1974, Arthur and Daisy Paul donated a collection of over 1,200 volumes to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. These publications formed the beginning of the library's Afghanistan Collection, which was later named in honor of Paul. The Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection in UNO Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections is one of the largest collections of material about Afghanistan in the United States. The collection has over 20,000 titles in twenty-nine different languages including Dari, Pashto, and English.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha Libraries

UNO Libraries fulfill the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. With its two locations, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library on UNO’s Dodge Campus and in KANEKO-UNO Library located in Omaha’s Old Market, UNO Libraries provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness, and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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