In this image made available by France's Marine Nationale, the cargo ship TK Bremen sits stranded on a beach near Erdeven, France, on December 16, 2011, spilled fuel oil fouling the water. (AP Photo/Mael Prigent, Marine Nationale)

Three workers demonstrating the different types of gas masks used in mine rescue work. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). December 1925

In April 2011 last factory in the world on manufacture of typewriters was closed. The epoch of typewriters has ended...

Photo: A model of a commercial typewriter from 1867. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). June 1923

“The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the “death strip”) that contained anti-vehicle trenches, “fakir beds” and other defenses. The Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc officially claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the “will of the people” in building a socialist state in East Germany. However, in practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period”. – Wikipedia

Photo: West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“The Falklands War, also known as the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was a 1982 limited war between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The conflict resulted from the long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which lie in the South Atlantic east of Argentina”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Kenneth “Rocky” Hudson, a Petty Officer from Gosport aboard HMS Hermes, the flagship of the Royal Navy, heading for the Falkland Islands. The troops are waging a Mexican moustache growing contest and Kenneth is wearing 30mm cannon shells slung around his body and sporting a fat cigar. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 18th April 1982

Seized plastic handguns which were created using 3D printing technology are displayed at Kanagawa police station in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, in this photo taken by Kyodo May 8, 2014. Yoshimoto Imura became the first man to be arrested in Japan for illegal possession of two guns he created himself using 3D printing technology, Japanese media said on Thursday. The 27-year-old, a college employee in the city of Kawasaki, was arrested after police found video online posted by Imura claiming to have produced his own guns. Gun possession is strictly regulated in Japan. Police raided Imura's home and found five guns, two of which could fire real bullets, Japanese media said. (Photo by Reuters/Kyodo)

“The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae now found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A Tasmanian Devil bears it's teeth at a quarantine facility August 31, 2005 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.