can you just quickly tell me if this is all because i can't see without my glasses . something. is that has such a thankless little. piece feature because. there are two churches. and then the mention. my name is richard davis i'm an architectural photographer from london. and i've been traveling in russia for the last ten years on a project to photograph wooden churches.

i knew that you know to do a proper book you needed time you didn't create a book in a fortnight. you need a subject when you really believe that obviously i fell in love with the chances they are extraordinary opiates they'd be full of lives.

i'm going to read something here that richard shots liberated in the sixteenth century here didn't intend to come to russia he was actually looking for the northeast passage there was a big storm of the ended up in the white sea and this is what he he wrote about the churches he said they church is a built of timber and the towers of the churches for the most part are covered with shingle boards and the jewels of the churches they used to be build some engines so foolish as we do.

we just arrived at pura naima i can show you our colleagues who is relaxing food in the food which here in the foreground. they were who had a really good there was there was one to some it's fool. if you. got any ideas why should i do. such an. temper long time. you will.

fake a set that will not just have a little walk around the church with flash it for a name it was built they say in sixteen eighteen although this could be some doubts about it can see the roof here is pretty rotten and needs a lot of work the timber has a an amazing texture through. this bicameral anything is the hasselblad and it's called output and it's got a rising front which means that you when you take credit growth it doesn't look as though the buildings falling over. because you're not tipping the camera just lifting the lens.

of the. you. know what i suppose this church might have been building before sixteen eighteen that was the year when the church was registered in the records of the sars archeological commission and it was dated soley on the strength of a survey among local clergy. who thought it was the st nicholas the miracle worker was the patron saint of all white sea manners and explorers they certainly needed his protection and indeed had it as they braved the perils of rough seas making their way from village to village he's got all those whom death haunts each time they head out to sea or reconcile it with the thought that they may be unable to come by it or for that reason they have

a totally different perception of the face compared to people living far from the shore buildings on the white sea coast are filled with a keen sense of life that's typical of people living in the north. has some more graffiti on the wall more lovers and it might this is a big space. we can see. and on the wall here you can see where there were project is the host of the project since this was obviously used as a club in the cinema during soviet times so i guess there would have been a big screen with the where the i kind of stuff is was and this is in a pretty bad state as well. we've been to the church when i go trying to find somebody in the village who will maybe tell us something about the history of egypt and hopefully find somebody who saw the film. in the church of the nativity. scene

they did with the red heads go. something. that. you already just because i live a good three. minute how do you. know that i. got up what do you mean. your job a good deal of the good which your thought. was it that my point was you know. you're ok ok. you're. propaganda back then was focused against the church and everything it stood for communists and members of the young communist league were i'm the campaign this church here was really the only suitable place for clubs people ganske here every

weekend and a couple supposed down in one thousand nine hundred three. in the churches is a religious monument obviously but it's also an object of wonder you know it's something that people can look at and and and opens their eyes that is. what can be achieved by using your imagination and you know hopefully the religious activity will return but it still needs to be and still needs to be saved up since the breakup of the soviet union obviously there have been other more important things to do with your money like by ferrari's and expensive watches and things like that but i think i'm hoping that people will wake up to the to the fact that

these objects are precious and you need to. need this. thread to fake a say well for venturing feeling she tries face to face facing a long time face to face. his face very muddy feel a smile for the camera fast. food there's a lot of waiting to do before we can be picked up that says sure hers very very show other fear. thank you. i have a brother who's mentally handicapped and my mother spent her whole life trying to

raise money to to support people who were mentally handicapped you know what in my mother would do that maybe i feel that i should be doing something to to support something that i think is worthwhile now i could say that my mother was an inspiration because i saw her you know devoting life to the cause that she had i haven't done that i've devoted my life to you know myself and my family and and other things but you know the preserving our heritage and this is a little moment when it might be possible to make a tiny difference in a tiny one tiny world with intentions.

to. we're just having a little walk. in the village now you can see that the house. and everything there's just one one family in the village at the moment and they're just here for the summer my sign of life very beautiful. bring her. memories from around. the. ship. but then you could sort of and here you can see st nicholas church. it was built in the eight hundred twenty s. today it serves as a reminder of the fate of many other russian wooden churches. back in the old days churches were form of spiritual support not only for the villages but also the whole surrounding area people used to flock to them on sundays and major holidays.

it's fair to say that now the villages are dying in much the same way as the churches. the church of neighbors is quite late. one in its. stays seeing this extraordinary village very beautiful. on the way sea. came. this is the said trip and we've just. had lunch after

seeing the church and i. kept in. this worried that it's getting too would be for us to move on and say we're sitting here lying on the rocks getting the sleep that we didn't get last night. that we will be able to continue. hey we will me if you feel you can just say. it is. getting rougher and rougher it will. send you out but. let. me know ok they could. be any day with

the wind. me is the ear to ear.

destroyer here. here take this stick. remember no stones here looks

like it's about a metre deep. you will find here we see examples of early and late architecture standing side by side on the belfry serves as a connection between these two times it's all in harmony with the village. that raises the idea on the bus through a building a wooden church is like a writings poetry stick with what he know perfect work of poetry seems to involve much effort on the part of it's also brought in fact each verse takes a good deal of effort and so does each one of the logs that go into a wooden church but what of that i wouldn't churches are said to have no nails in

them this is not a figure of speech it's simply the most convenient way of building a wooden church with the joints are very firm as a result of the fact that the logs weigh down on each other. you know. what will keep all of you. again it's true. for you to be. straight with sam if you can. construct it. given the way this is where the collective farm stored its grain on. the pull down soon after the revolution. young people in the country believed in neither god nor the devil

of a time that he had other ideals. ropes would be fixed to the crowds of youngsters will pull of them to bring the domes down. the road for them become it up. your church next door was used as a club house throughout the years of soviet government you. will. see each. future interesting. is the view from the church. the clubhouse was brought into existence as a place where villages could get culture of a specific sought in clubhouses professional coach or a boat nicky coach or workers were charged with planning activities in the remote

village areas including celebrations of the new soviet holidays dances plays agitation of saving at ideals and atheism and importantly keeping watch over excess and failures of the hopes. could be just to over a quarter a mile of the say how from a short cut to the bay which. bush wasn't very clear he didn't do a rift something a way. to know that there's enough room to turn ok i say i hope maybe. you're going on to the system to a room to everyone else.

in the know you over the weekend so you will be able to do the deed in. olmo. your mom was. good in the own.

learn to. show you go no move oh ah ah. you. see three o'clock in the morning and we're looking for some food. we've been up. all night. the girls been singing beautiful songs so we've now come down to the beach before we go to sleep for a couple of hours. as we're on the the island of condo ostroff which was part of the i thought i'd read something on the bolshoi sort of x.p. the main island of this white sea archipelago there is a fortified monastery it was founded in four hundred twenty nine until the nineteenth century this was the only official state prison in russia and house many important religious and historical figures these magnificent built for the glory of

god witnessed monstrous events over hundreds of years the gulag archipelago the network of camps that stretched across a vast territory. started life from this cluster of before islands set in what soldiering it's in right a matter of. three cents today without the big group from the university went off to another church for the white soup. to the chance of seeing the people there with their chest is being restored. and when did the chancel visit us a long time again some. yeah no one knows exactly.

what. happened. if. you can. as you can see it's an absolutely wonderful church it's huge and and when i first came here it was in a terrible state and nobody seemed to be really interested in in restoring it or do any any wreckage exmoor. until we met alexei sooty in who's whose mother is from the village and he's very involved in trying to restore the village and raise raise funds to going inside you can see

that they are getting things here and you know it is looking much cleaner much nicer it's being tied it up but there is still a hell of a lot of work to do here somewhere along if i you know if you want. to. cry i think it will miss you pretty young for the fishing it was this may be this war was just. this is the. school. year there will be the first eclipse of the species. and. myself proposed to feeder that we've only just started when it will be finished is and i want to get this but i'm not doing it alone i couldn't have cut without help from the others you wish for. in fact i might have given up on it if this. if this. if.

you. say you just said. this. it's a serious serious differences in. her truth last years a good saying. faith will deal is death maker heinies not sure we need to finish the job if only for the sake of those kids sitting on the benches you when you have called as a book or a maid if they see we're trying to do something to restore all this ever lost in treasure.

but you're good with us kids on the basis. of goodies i'm only doing what i think is right i'm not out to pursue any special goals just what i think is right. i'm sure some will say that i'm doing this without god's blessing. well if i think it's right under that somehow things of all was well down in the past month. just pound back. dominates the landscape in a very very beautiful and that field crusher and i'm just going to. swing the camera around and. say. something opposite side of the bank. this is serious when you're rushing in on its glory crassness. i mean i'm happy for them to carry exists but i see. which flushes i feel.

guilty i am. being. cool started here before going global and now it's cooling the fire. log.

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