Once the backbone of the Soviet Unions road to industrialization, Russia's rural communities have now all but become a memory within the pages of history.
The mass rural exodus throughout Russia has been ongoing for many decades. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, provided a catalyst for the increase in migration from Russia's small towns and villages. The collective farms (kolkhozy) and state enterprises that provided jobs to these settlements fell into steep decline and forced people out in search of prosperity elsewhere.
The Komi Republic, located in the north western extreme of Russia, once had a thriving network of collective farms and local forestry enterprises. Following the economic collapse in 1991, these villages were left without any industry or social infrastructure. Today, most of the remaining villages lie in a permanent state of decay, frozen in time. What remains are the memories of a once prosperous world - The memories of a “Radiant Past…” - Svetloe Proshloe
From the 1950's through the 1970's the dying Russian village was a popular theme amongst some of Russia's most legendary writers. Alexander Solzhenitsyn's
"Matryona's Home" and Valentin Rasputins novel "Farewell to Matyora" both emphasized the loss of spiritual and ethical values associated with the passing of an older generation, and the hardships endured by those who were left behind.....
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