'Soviet Ghosts' By Rebecca Litchfield Is A Haunting Collection Of Former Cold War Majesty

13 Haunting Pictures Of Former Cold War Majesty

You have to suffer for your art, or so the saying goes.

This would appear especially true for Rebecca Litchfield, who risked radiation exposure, experienced arrest and interrogation, and was even accused of espionage to bring you this stunning collection of pictures.

'Soviet Ghosts' is a look at the rusted and dusty remains of Cold War ruins beyond where the Iron Curtain used to lie.

The fine art photographer said: "Not many explorers travel to Russia where the rules are very different, locations are heavily guarded and a strong military presence exists everywhere.

"There are serious consequences for getting caught. We managed to stay hidden for all of the trip, we maximised our stealthiness, ducking and diving into bushes and sneaking past sleeping security.

"But on day three our good fortune ran out as we visited a top secret radar installation. After walking through the forest, mosquitos attacking us from all directions, we saw the radar and made our way towards it, but just metres away suddenly we were joined by military and they weren't happy…"

Soviet Friendship Monument, Bulgaria

Soviet Ghosts

Rebecca adds: "I refrain from having personal opinions about the era and try to remain relatively neutral.

“Whilst the period had bad times, the people living in the communities still got on with life and also had good times, it was not a period of pure black and white and so my aim of the book was to just capture it as it was now.

"Some places would have been thriving and others horrible places to be and you can see this reflected in my book and some of the accompanying text. But that is life, time moves on and things like this disappear.

"Some people may see the ruins of this time as destructive, but I see the beauty in the decay, like a memory hanging on that will soon be lost in a breeze, a museum that no one gets to see."

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