The lazy and calm feel that this photograph is ironic when considering the executions that occurred in the same city in a mere 7 years. I also agree that the dogs are incredibly cute and to help further understand 20th Century Russia I think the class …
First off, this is a great photograph and I enjoyed your discussion of it in class! The contrast in the appearance of the girl and of the town behind her is questionable I think. It seems to me like she was handpicked because she looks nicer, presumably, than others in her community. I just wonder if the photographer was instructed to portray a happier/better life in the Russian Empire than it really was at that time. Art is usually left to the artist’s discretion but with such a strong backing from the Tsar I wonder if there were any strings attached.
I agree with Dalton — Your discussion of the man in the photograph raises really interesting and important questions about ethnicity, empire, and religion in the early twentieth century. It’s intriguing to think about the linguistic differences between non-Russian ethnic groups in the empire — in this case, Uzbek (Turkish) and Dari (Persian). And I think Dalton raises an important question about the potential for religious and ethnic differences to cause conflict in times of stress (like World War I). (You did mean WWI in this post, right?) I really enjoyed reading this!
This is such a beautiful photograph! It’s interesting that the photographer’s motive for his photography was educating school children, I’m glad you found that information to share with us. In times where Russia is usually viewed as not much more than cold, bad, or backward, it’s great to see the beauty and history of the empire at the time of these photographs. Photography is such a great way to capture history, especially with regard to religious pieces because as you said, religion is such a big part of history!
I think you’re right — it’s unlikely that cultural influence worked only through clothing and not in the realm of ideas as well. You’ve given us lots to think about here — there’s definitely more to the photograph than meets the eye. For another perspective in a similar vein, check out Cameron’s post here: https://thensoviet.wordpress.com/2018/01/18/the-generation-gap-the-visualization-of-western-influence/
There’s so much here! What do you think about the scale of this undertaking? Petersburg to Murmansk is a long journey! 1,300 kilometers — and through a pretty formidable climate. I note that the photograph was taken in the summer, so while bugs were probably an issue, at least snow and wind were not. I’m going to say that it took “a lot” of effort to move the handcart, and that they mainly used it for short distances between stations.
