Hidden dragons

It has been many centuries since the dragons, which in the 16th century attempted to conquer Europe, finally suffered a definitive defeat. The ones fallen in the battle still have their skins on display in a number of churches, museums and doorways or, cast in stone, on public squares. And the ones that managed to escape have found shelter on some islands. Just like in our garden.







Or like in the vulcanic lake of Pucón in Chile whose dragon population was surveyed by Julia in this summer, in early February.





Or like in the island of Mallorca where, as we know, there was an active dragon invasion in progress even as late as the end of the 18th century. There the oldest, more robust ones managed to have a stable position on the big constructions.







Those coming later got place on the late 19th century Art Nouveau buildings. The dragon is one of the most frequent motifs of Mallorcan Art Nouveau – modernista – architecture, and so this industry has absorbed lots of immigrants.






These latter have then joined in the electrobusiness wiring all the town…


…and also in the tourist industry.


We have also encountered other impressive representatives of this race, but their photos are taking rest on a hard drive under reparation. As soon as we get it back, they will join their colleagues.

According to zoologists, Mallorca has always offered an extremely favorable habitat for reptiles. “An extinct goat from the island of Majorca lived like a cold-blooded crocodile”, writes Discovery News. And in fact, the periodical growing of the bones and the low metabolism of Myotragus balearicus, developed in the island some five million years ago, was quite similar to that of crocodiles, experts say. This makes it comprehensible why dragons have found their way so remarkably well in the island.

Skeleton of a Myotragus balearicus from the museum of Palma and its reconstruction from the CosmoCaixa of Barcelona. From the Mallorca Daily Photo Blog.

Tales of Petrograd

What else could we begin such a series with if not the gate of Russia, the former capital considered in Russian literature as the boundary between East and West: Petersburg? And who else if not the photos of someone who in the last years has become a chronicler and, virtually, a good genius of the city: Aleksandr Petrosyan?


For years I have watched the photos of Aleksandr Petrosyan, born in Lvov and living in Petersburg. First I got to know his black and white documentary photos which with great attention and sympathy gave news about the losers of the change of regime, and later his first city photos taken around 2000 on which he made experiments with unexpected, absurd and meaningful crosscuts of buildings and perspectives. It is good to see that these two kinds of sensitivity have encountered in such a fully mature way.


A multitude of mysterious stories unfold themselves on these pictures. Stories which take place in the city day after day in front of our eyes, but can be perceived only from the right angle.



The source of the pictures is the page of Aleksandr Petrosyan. You are advised to enlarge each of them: this is how they really live.

Get to know the Soviet Union

In my childhood this was the name of a book series which there stood on the shelves of every library, as well as of a contest – officially called Кто знает больше о Советском Союзе – Who knows more about the Soviet Union? – in which the pioneers had to give account of their knowledge about the geography, culture and industrial, scientific and space research achievements of the country extending on one sixth of the world.

In the reality it was never easy to get to know the Soviet Union. When still there was time for it and even flight tickets came to only three or four dollars, it was almost impossible to a foreigner to freely travel within the big country except if he studied there with a scholarship. And since the limitations have ceased, there is not enough time and money to go to every place one would like to see in this vast piece of the earth.

Fortunately the modern photographers of the former empire, both professionals and amateurs come to our aid, who willingly and often publish their extremely beautiful and sensitive pictures on various Russian sites, blogs and forums. In this new thread of Río Wang we would like to present from time to time some pieces of this world through their pictures.


This introduction originally ended here. However, since then our original concept has expanded. On the one hand we wanted to open a separate collection for the Russian posts, with the title, say, “In Russia you can only believe”, but over time we realized how much the two collections would overlap: all the series of the Russian photographers should be linked there too, and a large part of those posts should be also visualized on the map below. So we have merged the two into one. Every Russian-themed post that can be localized on the map is also linked there – under the photo blogs, separated with a line –, and those that are more general, figure in the list below it.

On the other hand, the Russian photographers do not only take photos at home, but take their unique way of seeing abroad as well, and we would have been sorry to renounce the resulting series. Therefore, we started to publish the pictures taken by Russian photographers in other – usually rarely seen – places of the world, which we also link to a map. So far only to a map of Eurasia, but when the other hemisphere will be involved, we will insert its map as well.

See the map in larger size here, and the present administrative regions here.

Russian first Your Russian primer Triangular soldier’s letters Illustrated front postcards The last Tsar in Paris

The Russian landscape, 2011 Modern Soviet still life photos One day in the life of an icon painter Yevgeny Khaldei, the Soviet Capa

(the rest is being compiled…)

The geographic map of Asia from the English-language Soviet world map of 1967. Download the map in a large size (12 MB), or its political counterpart (10 MB).