Thursday 29 January 2009

Photo camera


This wall stands untouched on Blaumaņa street in Riga for more than 25 years. The mural was made there perhaps because of a photo club that used to reside in the house in Soviet times.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Saturday 24 January 2009

Soviet Armenia








These are neon signs of grocery stores (gastronomes), bookshop, health center (policlinic), post office and a cafe in towns Gyumri and Ejmiatsin in Armenia. Nowadays Armenia is one of the places where the biggest concentration of such signs from the past can be found.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Tuesday 20 January 2009

The sun still shines


Saules bank doesn't exist since 2001 when it was bought by another bank, however the advert of it still can be found in the very center of the Old town - in Līvu square. It says "with Saules bank all over the World". By the way saule means the sun in Latvian.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Friday 16 January 2009

Children's railway



Children's railway was a phenomenon in the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries. In Riga there was one as well but it's been dismantled many years ago, however in quite a few post-communist countries it is still functioning. One of them you can find in Yerevan, Armenia.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Monday 12 January 2009

Photo service 2




These are a few signs for photo service, the white one in Āgenskalns has already been dismantled.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Sunday 11 January 2009

Dorn


This mural on Maskavas street in Riga must have been from pre-WWI times. It advertises "Dorn, quantity - 20, price - 5 kopeks". Dorn in Russian means the mandrel. Does anyone knows what has been advertised there? Cigarettes or some sort of mandrels?
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Saturday 10 January 2009

Hardware


The window of an abandoned house on Maskavas street in Riga has been nailed with an old signpost of repair shop.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Stalin in Gori






The Georgian town Gori is the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. It's probably the only city in the World where one can find several monuments devoted to him. Besides the giant Stalin outside the Town Hall there are a few smaller monuments around the city. Even the main street is called Stalin avenue.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus