​​​From around 1936, Khaldei worked for the TASS (Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union) for which he later documented, amongst other things, the Nuremberg trials.

​As an officer in the Red Army, he fought his way all the way to Berlin. Khaldei became famous for a photograph he took in May 1945 at the end of the Battle of Berlin. The photo shows the moment when the Soviet flag was placed on the Reichstag building. The photograph was staged for propaganda purposes.

​Khaldei, followed the example of a photograph captured by American photographer Joe Rosenthal which pictured the moment when American soldiers planted a flag on the island of Iwo Jima. This photograph was staged and organized by a small group of soldiers.

​The photograph of the Soviet flag raised in Berlin was taken on 2 May 1945. It showed Meliton Kantaria from Georgia and Mikhail Yegorov from Russia. Khaldei took a series of staged photograph whilst in Berlin. This one taken on top of the Reichstag went down in history and was published by the weekly magazine Огонёк.

​The photograph did not escape censorship. Khaldei, himself added smoke over the burning Berlin backdrop to heighten the drama. Soviet censors also removed the watch from the hand of the Soviet soldier raised in a gesture of triumph. The watch on the other hand remained, the interference was intended to avoid traces of the Red Army's looting activities in ruined Berlin.

​In order to obtain the right flag for the photograph, Khaldei flew to Moscow to get it.