2. Russia Redux • Возвращающаяся Россия

Chita-Transbaikal (03.2011)

Six thousand kilometers from Moscow, the Transbaikal Region (Zabaikalsky Krai) of Russia is in far eastern Siberia & shares borders with both China & Mongolia. The capital city, Chita, is the headquarters of the Siberian Military District and until 1991, was a closed city famous for its exiles. Decembrists first sentenced to hard labor were exiled here in 1827, the last Emperor of China was imprisoned here, & more recently, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was held in detention.

An ethnically & culturally diverse region long inhabited by Buryats, Evenks and Russian Cossacks, this vast area is one of extraordinary beauty from the Kodar Mountain Range to the little-known Siberian desert, the sands of Chara.
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Pictured on the left is Pauline Gueble, a French woman unable to even speak Russian, who had fallen in love with the aristocratic, Ivan Annenkov. She traveled 6000 kilometers to Chita to follow her love where they eventually gained permission to marry in this church. On the right is Dmitry Zavalishin who had participated in an around-the-world naval expedition in the 1820s and was also exiled to Chita.
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Pictured on the left is Pauline Gueble, a French woman unable to even speak Russian, who had fallen in love with the aristocratic, Ivan Annenkov. She traveled 6000 kilometers to Chita to follow her love where they eventually gained permission to marry in this church. On the right is Dmitry Zavalishin who had participated in an around-the-world naval expedition in the 1820s and was also exiled to Chita.

decembrist museumchitachita siberiarussiaPauline GuebleIvan AnnenkovDmitry Zavalishindecembrist exilesrusurusu photography

  • Hilltop chapel. (Chita)
  • Chapel dome & cross.
  • View of Chita, capital of the Transbaikal Region.
  • Chita, nestled amongst the hills.
  • Chita railway yard & city view.
  • RT Cameraman, Vycheslav Titov, & assistant Anton Melikhov, shooting above Chita.
  • Helicopter flying above Chita.
  • Decembrist church, now a museum, in Chita.
  • Rustem in front of the Michael-the-Archangel Decembrist church in Chita.
  • Чита. Церковь, где венчались декабристы.
  • Decembrist Museum. The 1st group of Decembrists arrived in Chita in 1827.
  • Officer uniform. Before the Decembrist uprising, most of the exiles were noble officers in the Tsarist military.
  • Pictured on the left is Pauline Gueble, a French woman unable to even speak Russian, who had fallen in love with the aristocratic, Ivan Annenkov. She traveled 6000 kilometers to Chita to follow her love where they eventually gained permission to marry in this church. On the right is Dmitry Zavalishin who had participated in an around-the-world naval expedition in the 1820s and was also exiled to Chita.
  • Prince Sergey Grigorievich Volkonsky, one of the most famous Decembrist exiles, was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. At age 24, Volkonsky was a General in the Tsarist cavalry. It took his wife, Maria, 7 years to receive permission to follow him into exile.
  • Pavel Pestel, one of five Decembrists who were executed. Пестель, один из пяти казнённых декабристов.
  • Educated & cultured, the Decembrists contributed significantly to the development of Siberia - an enduring legacy.
  • Map showing movement of Decembrist rebels in present-day Ukraine.
  • Leg irons worn by Decembrist prisoners.
  • A life of hard labor for the Decembrists in Chita.
  • Girl with a rose. (Chita)

  • 349390pitchingwedge33

    on May 20, 2011

    fantastic story....

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