OREANDA-NEWS. September 09, 2010. A second exhibition of photos, Russia from the Train, is opening at the Moscow State Exhibition Hall Novy Manezh on 10 September and will run until 1 October 2010. This is a collaborative photo project between Russian Railways and the photographer Anton Lange, featuring a series of Lange’s photo exhibitions united by a common theme and representing a logical continuation of each other, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

The aim is to show various aspects of Russia’s national life and society in the XXI century through the camera lens and take a new look at the country’s unique geography, landscape and diverse nature, as well as to record Russia’s cultural and historical heritage and the lives of Russians.

From November 2006 to the end of 2009, Russian Railways organised special expeditions to the most remote corners of Russia for Anton Lange and the project’s creative group.

The photo project’s first exhibition was held at the Novy Manezh in May 2008 and was an "interim report" on progress so far. Visitors to the new exhibition will now be able to see a summary of the project. Lange’s photos and the exhibition Russia from the Train Window paints a new and vibrant and at the same time permanent image of our huge country that goes far beyond the usual and limited stereotypes.

With more than 250 photos, the exhibition will present some of Russia’s most expressive and unique regions: the South Urals and Lake Baikal, the Black Sea coast and the North-West, Siberia, the Far East and Sakhalin Island, the Golden Ring and Russia’s central belt.

Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways: "The project Russia from the Train Window gives me special feelings because so much soul is invested in it. The people who worked on it felt they were involved in something special, perhaps because its idea not only embraces Russia’s geographical scale and beauty, but also the country’s history and restores the links between today and a bygone era. I’m convinced that no one will be left unmoved by these photos. I invite you to go on this exciting trip!"

Anton Lange: "The railways in Russia have been such an integral part of our lives for so long that they have become not just the most affordable means of transport, but also a way to gain knowledge of and insight into the life of the country. They are an adventure in which the inquisitive traveller makes a lot of discoveries for himself, finds the unusual in daily events, journeys not just from point A to B, but into nature itself and experiences the country’s geography, history, ethnography, culture ..."
 
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Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky was the first photographer who decided to show Russia on such a broad canvas. He created the first "Collection of Landmarks and Sights of Russia" after setting out "to capture in colour all the lands and peoples that inhabit the land of Russia."

Before him, no one had undertaken such an attempt. Working during the Russian Empire, Prokudin-Gorsky’s idea was supported by Tsar Nicholas II. A number of special rail expeditions were organized for the photographer: first to the canal system of the Mary district, then to the Urals, Siberia, Turkestan and the Volga region, where he filmed unique material.

The subsequent slide show in one of the biggest cinemas in Paris in 1913 was hugely successful, but the 1917 Revolution meant Prokudin-Gorsky was unable to complete his undertaking. All his photos he took for the project are now archived in the U.S. Library of Congress.