What West doesn’t understand about Russia - a Lithuanian who knows

#Lithuania's parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas said #peace with #Russia can be secured only from position of strength warning unless #Moscow is stopped in #Ukraine, it will continue aggression deeper in #Europe

Lithuania’s #security approach shaped by its history of #Soviet #occupation & by belief Russia’s #imperial attitudes extend beyond #Kremlin

kyivindependent.com/peace-with…

#RussianAggression #RussianImperialism #imperialism

☢️ Old Soviet-era gas masks are common when exploring former USSR countries. Part of intensive state-wide civil defence policies aimed at preparing the entire population for a nuclear, biological, or chemical attack during the Cold War.

Whole boxes stored in basements of hospitals and factories. Sometimes, you may come across a single mask in an unexpected location. These masks have startled me more than once, talking full-on jump scare!

#ColdWar #GasMask #Soviet #Spooky #History #USSR

An unexpectedly grand building in a small mountain town in Georgia. It is a relic of the Soviet era, built in the 1950s. This was a community space for local agricultural workers as a community and entertainment venue.

#Abandoned #Photography #History #Georgia #LostPlaces #History #Soviet

🏛️ Sanatorium Imereti is one of the many abandoned resort buildings scattered across the spa town of Tskaltubo in western Georgia.

Built during the Soviet period, it once formed part of the state system for health tourism, with workers travelling from across the USSR to this quiet valley.

Today, the sanatorium is a decaying ruin; you must navigate a maze of crumbling corridors to uncover its most beautiful scenes.

#AbandonedPlaces #Photography #Ruins #Soviet #History #Urbex #Travel #Explore

A collection of abandoned Soviet-era sports halls from the former USSR and East Germany. These spaces remain largely as they were left when the Soviet forces retreated in the early 1990s. Now they are relics from a different time, rotting in place as the world moves on around them.

#urbex #soviet #abandoned #history #architecture #photography #ussr #eastgermany

2-x This is a little thread about the #Soviet military mapping project of, frankly, the world. Starting in the 1930s the Soviets made a solid effort to create maps of their own territory. After the death of Stalin (1953) the rest of the world followed.

This effort produced maps from 1:500.000 scale all the way to detailed 1:10.000 maps of individual cities (attached photo is the French city of Calais).

Fyi. I'll put a bunch of nice (online) reference reads at the end of this thread.

Sanatorium Tbilisi is one of the large Soviet-era resort buildings in the spa town of Tskaltubo in western Georgia.

Stepping through the grand entrance leads to the plaza, an enclosed courtyard with a central fountain that is surrounded by palm trees. An oasis, encircled by Soviet concrete. Elsewhere there are other rooms, hallways and staircases that are quite photogenic.

#Architecture #Abandoned #Ruins #Photography #Georgia #Soviet #History

🚗🇱🇹 Rusting VAZ Lada, somewhere in Lithuania.

There were a couple of Lada 1200 (VAZ-2101) from the 1970s and 1980s, and also a lovely red Lada 1500 (VAZ-2103)!

obsidianurbexphotography.com/o…

#ClassicCars #VAZLada #Lada #Soviet #Cars #Photography #Rust #Decay

Chiatura, Georgia, is home to a historically fascinating old cable car network. A remarkable and rusty relic of the Soviet era.

Built to connect the steep mining town to the surrounding manganese-rich hillsides. These steel cabins once carried miners, residents and ore across the mountains.

obsidianurbexphotography.com/i…

#History #CableCar #Soviet #Abandoned #Rust #Photography #Explore #Travel

🏛️💙 Stairway to Heaven. A grand split-flight staircase, at the heart of a Soviet-era sanatorium ruin. Somewhere in Georgia.

#Architecture #Ruins #Photography #Georgia #Soviet #Blue

A grand Soviet culture house, somewhere in Georgia. Once a focal point for workers’ culture and community in a prosperous tea-growing region, it stood abandoned for decades. Now, it is under renovation!

#Georgia #Soviet #History #Photography #Architecture #Mural #CultureHouse

Today in Labor History February 21, 1919: Kurt Eisner, a socialist activist in the Bavarian revolution and president of the Republic of Councils, was assassinated by extremists in Munich. The Central Council of the Republic declared a General Strike and state of siege in response, leading to the Bavarian Soviet Republic in April 1919. The republic was run through workers’ councils. The reactionary Freikorps paramilitary, along with elements of the German Army, quashed the republic in May. Many of those involved in the overthrow of the Bavarian Soviet Republic went on to become members of the Nazi Party.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #communism #councilcommunism #soviet #bavaria #kurteisner #germany #nazis #socialism

💎 Visions in Blue. A spectacular split-flight staircase at the heart of an abandoned and decaying Soviet-era sanatorium.

📌 Sanatorium Iveria, Tskaltubo, Georgia

More photos and history: obsidianurbexphotography.com/l…

#Georgia #Soviet #Abandoned #History #Photography #UrbanExploration #Urbex

An old MiG-15, a Cold War-era jet fighter, languishing in a field somewhere in Latvia

This lonely MiG-15 sits near a private runway in Latvia, a survivor of the Soviet Union's early jet fighter era. Developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich, the aircraft was an early innovator in swept-wing design intended to reach supersonic speeds.

More history & photos of this plane - obsidianurbexphotography.com/m…

#Latvia #ColdWar #Airplane #JetFighter #Soviet #Military #History #Photography

🐻 Self-portrait inside an abandoned Soviet-era school sports hall in Latvia. This was one of the top spots of my most recent Baltic road trips. The cute bear in this mural is Misha, mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. I was very excited to finally meet Misha, I seemingly forgot to smile for my photo 😐

#Latvia #History #Mural #Art #Olympics #Soviet #Cartoon #Bear #Mascot #Olympic #Photography #Abandoned

An old Soviet-era school inside an abandoned military site. Somewhere in East Germany.

#Germany #Soviet #AbandonedSchool #Photography #Urbex #UrbanExploration #LostPlace

34 years ago today, the #SovietUnion officially ceased to exist. December 26, 1991

Apologies to #tankies (not really) but it was a very good thing

Not liking the #Soviet Union has nothing to do with loving #capitalism or loving the #West, it's about despising #imperialism

Anyone who has a problem with my sentiment:

Talk to someone who lived in #EasternEurope or under the Soviet umbrella

We must defeat #plutocracy in the West

The Soviet way is not the way

Happy #SovietUnionCollapseDay

Yea .. the #USA is done for good.

biggest military - shmilitary

they now have this totally fractured #PoliticalTribes which are not only broken between the classic left-right divide, but in themself too

they have absolutely NO #economic perspective

and now parts of the current administration are actively conspiring with their #geopolitical enemies to push their (the non US side) #war goals

..

It's like the complete (moral) saleout

Reminds me much of the final end of da #Soviet #Empire.

🪗

🆕🚡🇬🇪 New location feature: Soviet Cable Car Network, Chiatura, Georgia

The cable car network in Chiatura is a remnant of Soviet industrial infrastructure. Built in 1954, it linked the manganese mines in the surrounding hills with the town below. For decades this system transported miners, ore, and residents across steep terrain.

Full write-up and gallery now live:
👉 obsidianurbexphotography.com/i…
⠀
#Georgia #Chiatura #AbandonedPlaces #UrbanExploration #Photography #Soviet #History #Travel #Urbex

During the #Soviet era, Ukrainians were forbidden from celebrating Easter.

Baking #Easter bread, attending church, or simply blessing food could label you as a dissenter.