Schlusselburg Fortress
Schlusselburg Fortress, Northern Russia 2009
Not long after we sailed from St. Petersburg, we came upon the Schlusselburg Fortress glowing in the setting sun. Built on an island in the Neva River, it was the last home of the Emperor Ivan VI of Russia. He was imprisoned when he was one year old. When he was four years old, he was placed into solitary confinement for twelve years. He saw no one but his jailer. When Catherine the Great came to power, she gave orders that the “nameless one” was to be put to death if anyone tried to release him, even if they had orders from the Emperor. And that is what happened when an Army officer tried to free him.
Catherine feared that Ivan VI would usurp her throne as she was only an insignificant German princess who became a member of the Russian Aristocracy through her marriage to Peter III. Ivan VI had become mentally deranged due to being isolated from the age of four, but he knew that he was rightfully the Emperor and always referred to himself as such.
I did a lot to this photo to give it a sense of mystery. I darkened it almost to extinction and then brought back the golden light of the setting sun by using a mask. I also added a blur and removed a distracting wooden dock. It’s my visualization of the Fortress. Reality doesn’t have this ghostliness…it’s my way of honoring poor Ivan IV.