Paard en wagen op een militaire weg langs een rivier in Georgië c. 1875 - 1890

Dimitri Ivanovitch Ermakov made this silver gelatin print of a horse and cart on a Georgian military road sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Ermakov was an accomplished ethnographic photographer in the Caucasus, a region marked by its diverse cultures and, at the time, by Russian imperial ambitions. The construction of military roads was essential to Russian control, disrupting traditional ways of life and enabling resource extraction. This image captures a moment of transition, with the horse-drawn carriage symbolizing older ways against the modern intrusion of the telegraph pole. The photograph invites us to reflect on the impact of imperial projects on local populations and landscapes. What stories do the people and animals carry with them on this road, and what futures are being shaped by these forces of change?