One of the UK's top-rated blogs with the inevitably winning combination of a strong Northern Ireland focus plus Russia and eastern Europe is Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness.

Have a look.

The picture at the top of the front page is a masterpiece by Russian/Ukrainian artist Ilya Repin, The Volga Bargehaulers. See a larger version of it here.

Most Brits have never heard of Repin. His work is astonishing, showing a subtlety and dynamism yet also a very Russian sensibility very different to the work being produced in western Europe in the later nineteenth century and on into the twentieth (he died in 1930, seemingly unimpressed with Communism).

Not to ignore the sheer scale of these pictures, one masterpiece a vast 4m x 8m depicting the State Council of Imperial Russia.

Try these famous examples:

The Wikipedia entry on Repin has the basic background, and links to more works here, showing his range and skill in profusion. 

It is hard to imagine that Repin ever expected his work to set the scene for a blog based in Northern Ireland.

Yet it happened.

And if it serves to popularise his work in these islands, so much the better.

PS   You are wondering what a verst is. In Russian it is верста. Here is the answer.