Russian Man

I've always been fascinated by Russia - there's something about the image that the word evokes - the open wind-swept steppe, the gruff men with amazing beards and fantastic hats, the questing philosophical literature, the onion domed architecture. My impression is that it's a land of contradictions, especially now when it's led by a fascist strongman that you can't get a true sense of what it's people are like. I've read a few books and none of them give me a sense of what it's like: from Andrew Meier's Black Earth to Ian Frazer's Siberia or even Orlando Figes' Natasha's Dance they all pain fascinating pictures but nothing that gives me a sense of what it's like to be there. (Of course, with a country that size, it's probably impossible to summarize in the same sense that the United States contains many, many different "countries" within its borders.

Anyways, Russia's interesting and I'm sure i'll continue to capture pictures that I like when I see them. I don't remember when I saw this Russian Man but I like the beard and his world weary eyes.