To Russia with Love (Part 2)

In the second of his three-part Russian love story, Herr Willie recalls in detail about “coming home” to each country of the former Soviet Union that he had been to.

It has been close to 17 years since filmmaker and lomographer Willie Schumann, or wil6ka as he is known in the community, first set foot on Russia, yet his memories remain as vivid as if they happened only yesterday. Previously, as you will recall, Schumann recounted his very first maiden voyage – from how, as a young man, he was able to land a volunteer teacher post at Novgorod, to finally boarding his first flight to Russia.

Now, in this part, Schumann elaborates on his feeling of “coming home” to every single one of the countries of the former Soviet Union through words and many wonderful photographs.

Siberia

Siberia, with its vast proximity, is such an amazing place. Although many things are very comparative to one another, I can only really speak about the region around the very central Khanty Mansiysk. While most of Siberia is covered by snow two-thirds of the year, it is a real nature paradise.

Uzbekistan – Samarkand and Buchara

In 2007 I was invited to be a cultural and language coach in Uzbekistan. Among the greatest places I saw during this stint were Samarkand and Buchara, magical cities from the ancient Silk Road. The architecture is amazing, the food is very special, and the people are an interesting cultural mix of Soviet and Asian heritage. These shots are a premiere at Lomography, shot with a Globuscope 360° camera.

Moscow

Moscow is a giant and I think it must be very tiring to live there. But I also think it’s a must-see. Among all the things you have to see, it’s the Red Square that shines the brightest. You have Lenin exhibited in his mausoleum in the walls of Kremlin. The seat of the Russian power is worth visiting for sure, and on the Red Square is the St. Basil Cathedral which, with its remarkable colorful roof, is maybe the most known building of the country – at least according to Nintendo’s Tetris, that is. I have been there several times. I even saw the Victory Day Parade in 1999. Impressive.

Nagorno Karabakh -Azerbaijan

I was on a job following a German band through Georgia and Armenia, and shooting for an NGO for some local projects. Then we took on Nagorno Karabakh, a quasi autonomous region on the territory of Azerbaijan but controlled by Armenia. It’s quite a hot issue between the neighbors and rivals, who only have a ceasefire but not an official peace contract. We approached Armenia and got the cutest handwritten visa on our passports. The capital, Stepanakert, was quite the Soviet artifact and there was a feeling of awkwardness in the place. But visiting it was such a great experience.

Armenia

The little country with Turkish heritage is the oldest Christian state. It has many amazing churches. Because it doesn’t adhere to the Western way of consumption, everything seems so natural. A very melancholic but very beautiful place that has a potential in eco-tourism.

To be continued

Previously: To Russia with Love (Part 1)

written by Julien Matabuena on 2015-02-24 #places #lifestyle #travel #location #herr-willie #to-russia-with-love #category-lifestyle #section-world #category-locations #willie-schumann