A Portrait of Ivanovka

This is a short portrait of a village that fascinated me during my time in Azerbaijan (2014-2022). Ivanovka was founded in about 1837 by a group of Russian Molokans (a strand of Spiritual Christians) exiled to the South Caucasus for their non-conformism. And when I first stopped by sometime in 2015 the village, stunningly set amid the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, felt like a real time warp: a Soviet-era collective farm still functioned while the houses were cosy cottages selling homemade honey and dairy products, and most of the cars were old Ladas. It was quite unlike anywhere else in Azerbaijan with its largely Russian population, descendants of those exiled Molokans, and its peculiar local culture and traditions. These photos were taken during my repeated visits over about a 5-year period.