Photo of caucasian highlanders. Photo by D.I. Ermakov. End of the 19th century.

Russian Empire. Dmitry Ermakov, late 19th century.

Photo: 15.2 x 10.7 cm. Cardboard: 20.6 x 13.2 cm.
The photo is pasted on a sheet of cardboard with an embossed inscription "PHOTO.D.ERMAKOVA".

The photo clearly shows the weapons of the mountaineers - expensive long-barreled screw flintlock guns, which were used for shooting from an ambush during the Caucasian War. These guns had a long firing range, but required a long reloading time. One shooter used several guns, which were reloaded by his assistant. Aimed shooting from such rifles was carried out over long distances, while the shooters themselves were inaccessible to enemy fire. Therefore, Russian troops suffered significant losses.

Dmitry Ivanovich Ermakov (1845-1916) was a famous Russian photographer, orientalist, ethnographer.