I write. Articles, reportages, and guidebooks. Mostly about Russia and the former USSR. Particularly on unrecognised countries, obscure geopolitical backwaters, ethnic minorities, architecture, and Soviet culture. Now and then I cover non-Soviet topics too. Sometimes I pen words to accompany my photographs, sometimes I take photographs that go along with my words, and at other times I just type words without pictures. The latter constitute an especially satisfying exercise of intellectual vainglory.