The Village Genius: Astonishing Photos Of Soviet Life Found In An Abandoned House (7 BW pics)

[rpannier]

In the spring of 2016, film student Victor Galusca was exploring a sleepy village in his native Moldova when the 23-year-old noticed some photographic negatives in the rubble of an abandoned house.

The discarded pictures were the life’s work of Zaharia Cusnir, an unknown amateur photographer who died in 1993.

The villager had struggled professionally under the communist regime and battled alcoholism, yet he left behind some of the most brilliant portraits of rural life ever captured on film.

For the past three years, with the permission of the photographer’s daughter, who dismissed her father’s work as “garbage,”​ Galusca and his photography teacher have been cleaning and scanning the stunning find, which they released on a website in January.



Two villagers pose for a portrait with glasses brimful with wine.






Villagers in fancy dress during a New Year's​ carnival.









Galusca believes Cusnir was able to afford the film needed for his hobby partly by selling prints that villagers could use in their identification cards – a mandatory document in the police state of communist Moldova.​


https://www.rferl.org/a/astonishing-photos-of-soviet-village-life-discovered-in-abandoned-house-in-moldova/30383072.html

[Kentonio]

1. Those are awesome!

Thank you for sharing.

[Beakybird]

2. Very captivating photos. An enriching waste of my time.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Fascinating! What a find.

[Leghorn21]

4. What a treasure, what a find!! Thank you, rpannier!!

Many more photos at link

[colorado_ufo]

24. A tragic moment, rarely captured -

a tiny child being laid to rest by his or her family, in this far off place and time.

[burrowowl]

5. Thanks for link!

[NurseJackie]

6. Amazing. Thanks for posting!

[aeromanKC]

7. It's Tevye in the last pic!!

[marybourg]

10. With a cross?

[ChazInAz]

29. In Moldava?

[erronis]

8. These are wonderful images - and more at the link. Such humanity in a dark place/time.

It seems that the photographer was able to evoke a quite a few winsome smiles and a sense of hope for a few of the people.

[wendyb-NC]

9. What a hidden gem.

A time capsule, post WWII. Very interesting settings, from another time, yet timeless. I'm guessing that, there are still small country villages, that still look like the settings in the photos. The picture of the two young women, sitting by the rock walled structure, has a window, on the left and an oblong decorative cloth, hanging behind them. Thanks for posting.

[3Hotdogs]

11. On the link, the next to the last one, the old man with walking stick,

Priceless !

[Karadeniz]

12. The link has lots of photos! Love the flowers, how the women did their hair and were well-dressed.

Thanks for giving us this peek back in time!

[Botany]

13. The last picture of the guy with the cow...

... that is one tough looking dude.

Would these people be Cossacks?

[NickB79]

20. My first thought was Mongo from Blazing Saddles

😂

[Dagstead Bumwood]

36. Even the cow looks like a bad ass.

Great pics. And, thanks to the age in which we live, people from all over the planet will now be able to appreciate this photographer and his art long after he passed from this life.

[58Sunliner]

14. Love the thumbprint on the negative. The cow/bull is very photogenic.

Thanks for posting.

[panader0]

15. Fabulous stuff.

[PatSeg]

16. Those are wonderful

Thank you for posting.

[PatrickforO]

17. Amazing!

Thank you for posting this! These are really good photos.

[GeoWilliam750]

18. Absolutely wonderful

Thank you for the link.

[BigDemVoter]

19. I find these really mesmerizing.

Thank you!

[Fla Dem]

21. Absolutely mesmerizing photographs of Moldovan life in the 1950's-1970's

I am struck by the beautiful faces of most of his subjects. What a treasure.

[Scarsdale]

23. Me, too.

Extremely attractive people, especially the girls.

[Dukkha]

22. New Year's​ carnival creepy AF

I love it!

[smirkymonkey]

25. Amazing photos!

Apparently his daughter was not so thrilled with his hobby. I guess it turned him into an alcoholic.

[Bayard]

26. I'd say his life turned him into an alcoholic

These photos are amazing.

Thanks for posting.

[Jeebo]

27. One thing I am noticing...

... is that Russians are spectacularly good-looking people. (Well, OK, these are Moldovans, but close enough.)

And yes, these pictures are amazing.

One reason I always find old pictures and old movies fascinating is that I keep thinking, these were real people, living real lives, in a different world that was just as real as our world.

Looking at some of these people's hands, I can tell they scratched and scrabbled their way through life largely with their hands.

I wonder how many of these people are still alive now?

-- Ron

[Coventina]

28. wow, this is the discovery of a truly visionary portrait artist!!

Riveting work!

[IcyPeas]

30. fantastic find

I was noticing the shoes and boots. well worn. there are 2 pictures of women wearing the same white sandals. can't tell if it's the same woman or if that was just the fashion at the time.

thank you to all photographers who have an eye to capture such images.

When Galusca spoke to the photographer’s daughter, she was uninterested in the collection and described the photographs as garbage that “no one needs."​

what's the saying.... one man's trash is another man's treasure.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

31. used a Lubitel-2 camera ...

From the link:

"But at age 43 he discovered his calling when he acquired a Soviet-made Lubitel 2 camera."

Cable Release Connection: No
Battery Type: No
Available Apertures: f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22
Shutter Speeds: Manual - 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, Bulb (B)
Focal Length:
Film advance: Winder
Film Format: 120
Flash connection: No
Focusing: No
Focusing Distance:
Frame Counter: No
Material: Bakelite
Tripod Mount: No
Lightmeter: No
View Finder: Twin-lens reflex viewfinder

[Demovictory9]

32. Year photos taken?

[Chellee]

34. According to the article, 1955 through the 1970's. nt

[Demovictory9]

35. thanks. I thought maybe 1930s

[cp]

33. So humane, as well as artistically wonderful

Thank you for posting these.

[Evolve Dammit]

37. He did well to document this slice in time. Obviously good rapport with subjects photographed.

Must have been a well accepted and decent person. They were comfortable being photographed, even the bull.