Chuck In Oregon

18th century Russian church built without nails. At 37m, one of the tallest log buildings in the world. Lake Onega, Karelia, Russia.

Felix Dzerzhinsky - a propaganda photo.

At a May 9 celebration in Tbilisi.

Painting of Robert E. Lee by Don Prechtel. Taken at the artist's studio/gallery.

No explanation needed.

This is a Russian hospital tent on the Turkish Front. Dr. Ivan Kalamkarov is seated on the far left.

Grapevine Cross in Georgia.

2014 Survivors Walk

The joy of a mother-daughter selfie!

This is Tako Elle. We first met at the Telavi Children's Home in Telavi, Georgia, in 2004. We are still friends and we visited her at her home in Rustavi, Georgia, last March. She has grown to be a lovely young woman and I'm proud that we are friends.

It's the desert of Kazakhstan and it's October 19, 1911. You're a rich young girl and your family is taking you to meet and marry your husband. Your mother rides on the lead camel, you ride on the second camel. Your world changes tomorrow.

The only thing I know about this photo is the inscription on the back which says, in Russian, "Our father and mother."

Victory Day holiday in Tbilisi, May 9, 1945. If I'm not mistaken, the banner says "Where Stalin Is, Victory Is!" Sure, could be a staged PR photo. Probably is, but the happiness is real. Sons, husbands and fathers are coming home.

This is a gray-haired lieutenant of the Red Army Air Force Technical Troops working on aviation instruments in 1944. On the left is a pressure chamber used for calibrating them at different pressures/altitudes. I'll take a guess and say that he's working on an altimeter. He has all the usual tools of his trade: wrench, pliers, screwdriver, oil can ... dewat .50 cal. machine gun round. He's wearing a hat and a greatcoat over a buttoned tunic over a uniform blouse indoors. Must be chilly. The ratty desk, the paint scheme on the wall and the junk piled against the wall suggest a makeshift lab, maybe in an abandoned schoolhouse somewhere behind the front, but not too far behind.

NKVD commo troop in 1937. A Happy New Year message on the reverse.

How can you not love this photo? It's like a Chekist recruiting picture. You've got the babe, the gun (Nagant?), good smokes (Papiros), the manly man wearing a brand new high-end leather jacket and both with new uniforms, time to read the paper together and on and on. It's a Chekist fantasy. From my collection.

Red Army horse-drawn canteen/PX, 1936. There is a lot to see here if you look closely.

NVA General Vo Nguyen Giap in Tbilisi, Georgia, circa 1959. Building on his successes against the French, Giap meets with very senior Soviet officials to plan a war against the US. An original Georgian PR photo from my collection.