Dorp met bewoners aan militaire weg in Georgië c. 1890 - 1900

Dimitri Ivanovitch Ermakov made this photograph of a village along a military road in Georgia at an unknown date. In focusing on the built environment and local population, the picture gives us an insight into how tsarist Russia sought to represent its imperial dominance. Ermakov's choice of subject, a village along a military road, emphasizes the importance of infrastructure in consolidating power. The road itself, though not directly visible, is a symbol of Russian influence and control in the region, and the village becomes a part of that wider network. Who are the people and what do they think? This is a question that is raised by, but left unanswered in, this photograph. To understand this photograph more fully, we can draw on a range of historical sources, from military records to accounts of travelers in the region. Through this kind of research, we can begin to appreciate the complex social and political context in which the image was made.