St.Petersburg photo reporters gather for an informal anniversary

Back in 1989, on May 5th, formerly the Day of Soviet Press, Igor Petrovich Potemkin, then a photo reporter for Leningradskaya Pravda newspaper, assembled local photo reporters for a group photo on the steps of the Mikhailovsky castle for the first time. There were only 14 of them. This group photo grew into a tradition that has gone on till today, with only two years missing. Named after the initiator, the gathering came to be known as "Potemkin steps".

Today, much more people gather at the steps, including the students of the local photo reporters faculty led by Pavel Markin, the dean of the faculty, as well as the old guard.

After getting the group shot done, people milled around, shook hands, started conversations and shared a drink or two (with a funny custom being to drink alcohol from an empty film canister)