Chukotka. Photo album.

N.p., [July-September 1949].
Oblong 4to, [8] leaves (45 photos: 32mo (9) and oblong 32mo landscape (36)).

In hardcover with photo to front cover.
In good condition, small stains to covers, edges bumped.

This handmade album was created by military officers at the outset of the Cold War. It is likely that these officers served at ALSIB — the Soviet Union's segment of the Alaska-Siberian air route, which received Lend-Lease aircraft from the Northwest Staging Route. On the other hand, the military presence in Chukotka may have been linked to the formation of NATO on April 4, 1949, and the first Soviet nuclear weapons test on August 29, 1949.
The album contains photographs of the region's wild nature and landscapes, including the Anadyr and Tanyurer rivers and Oymyakon village. However, the most intriguing aspect of the album is the collection of photographs depicting the Chukchi people and their daily lives. The final photo shows a Soviet soldier sitting on a whale bone.