In 2012 Artjom Uffelmann undertook a photographic expedition to the historic settlement area of the Volga Germans. He recorded their architectural legacy on exposed glass plates, which are now on display in an exhibition of the Cultural Office for Russian Germans.
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The photographic process of ambrotype, whereby glass plates are treated using a wet plate colodium process, was popular at a time when there was a flowering of German culture on both sides of the lower Volga. Architectural testimonies of this epoch included the mostly neo-gothic brick churches built in central locations of broadly laid-out colonies, which were characterized by the Russian blockhouse style of farm and the eclectic designs of brick merchants' houses. After the deportations in 1941, most of the settlements fell into disrepair. Today, only the ruins of the churches remain; they stand as silent witnesses of a vanished civilization. 
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The photographer Artjom Uffelmann has Volga German roots. He was born in 
Sibirski federalny okrug
eng. Siberian Federal District, eng. Siberian, rus. Сибирский федеральный округ, deu. Föderationskreis Sibirien, deu. Sibirien
, grew up in 
Caucasus
. Καύκασος, tur. Kafkas, aze. Qafqaz, hye. Կովկաս, hye. Kowkas, kat. კავკასიონი, kat. K'avk'asioni, rus. Кавказ, rus. Kawkas, deu. Kaukasus

The Caucasus is a Eurasian high mountain range located between the eastern Black Sea coast and the western coast of the Caspian Sea. In the north and northwest, the mountain range is situated on the territories of the Russian federal districts of North Caucasus and South Russia, and in the south on the territory of the states of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and in the extreme northwest of Iran. The highest peak is Elbrus (5642 m), located in Russia. The three mountain ranges of the Great Caucasus in the north - whose ridge to a large extent also represents the political border between Russia and Georgia or Azerbaijan - and the Lesser Caucasus and the Talysh Mountains in the southeast of the mountain range are distinguished.

At the same time, the name of the mountain is often representative of the geographical area or region of the Caucasus.

, and later moved to Germany with his family. He now lives in Mannheim. In his Photographic Institute Uffelmann engages with historical techniques of portrait and architectural photography. He works exclusively with forms of ambrotype, a photographic technique that was widespread in the second half of the 19th century.
Tickets to the exhibition "Forgotten Civilization - Churches of the Volga Germans" can be booked through the Cultural Office for Russian Germans.