New East Digital Archive

Sunset-tinted photos of Russia that find romantic beauty in the ordinary

Sunset-tinted photos of Russia that find romantic beauty in the ordinary
Courtesy of @modern_russian_romantics

27 March 2020

If you’re struggling to look at the world through rose-coloured glasses, @modern_russian_romantics can help. Granted, the photos aren’t blue skies and sunshine, but you’ll find fog hanging beneath the canopy of Russia’s golden onion domes, photos of St Petersburg’s misty canals, and cosy train journeys. The Instagram account is dedicated to finding the sublime in the everyday, with its striking contrast of natural splendour, sunsets, and stern socialist housing blocks.

Much of the feed is dedicated to industrial sites at dusk.

@modern_russian_romantics will take you as far as the snowy mountains of the Kamchatka peninsular in the Far East, and to secluded rural hideaways surrounded by summer flowers.

In a nod to 19th century romanticism, this Insta feed does not shy away from showing destruction and decay; it reflects the rack and ruin of Soviet architecture and the decline of industry in contemporary Russia.

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