VILNIUS AND MINSK REFERENCE PACK (FREE)

This is a reference pack from my recent trip through eastern Europe. I am giving this pack away free because it is somewhat sacred to me; particularly the reference shots from the WW2 museum and Kurapaty forest in Minsk, Belarus. As you may know, many soviets suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazis, however this was not the end of the atrocities for the people of eastern Europe. Stalin and the communist party slaughtered many people for political reasons and there are mass graves throughout eastern Europe: Kurapaty is one such forest. It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people may have been buried there, but no one really knows for sure. 

It was quite sobering to wander the WW2 museum as my friend translated a lot of the text for me and it was certainly humbling to walk through Kurapaty, a forest full of crosses and saints painted on rocks. While we were wandering the forest, we met a Georgian man and his wife near a fire. The man offered us his homemade bread, some Georgian chicken, and of course: Vodka. He explained to us what had happened in the forest and when I asked him if he thought it was ok if I took photos he said, "photos are for remembering and these people have been forgotten in time. Take photos, share them, and remember these people."

This pack consists of a variety of photos including textures, machine guns, tanks, soviet costumes, Kurapaty forest, some shots from downtown Minsk and much more. I hope you will read about Kurapaty and appreciate the significance of the crosses there.

All the photos are 5472 x 3648 and royalty free. Enjoy.