The Doukhobors, or the Old Believers, are a spiritual, pacifist sect from the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 1840s Tsar Nicholas l exiled the group to Georgia’s “Siberia” for their rejection of the church and refusal to serve in Russian armed forces. In the village of Gorelovka, just 10km away from Armenia, Andrey, his mother Ana, his wife and two children live in a blue house with hand painted flowers.

At their peak, the Doukhobors had nearly 20,000 members that inhabited several villages. Now, less than 100 people remain.

The Doukhobor’s piety is oriented to the natural world and fervent belief in peace. They pray by facing one another, to “see God in the reflection of the person in front of you” Andrey explains. The Doukhobors do not read the Bible during religious services or have a priest. Their prayers are part of an ancestral oral tradition, united by their community.

Though the Doukhobors are a micro ethnic minority, Georgia’s ruling government still reaches the distant corners of Georgia’s border towns. Georgian Dream posters line the electrical posts along the dirt road. During the country’s most divisive parliamentary elections, Akhalkalaki, the next largest town, had some of the highest reports of voter fraud.

The hill top in the village symbolizes an interfaith praying spot for the Old Believers, the Armenian Christians, and the Azeri Muslims, all of whom populate the region. Though the Doukhobors are spirited in their culture and tradition, the once colorful array of homes are now washed out, reinhabited, or abandoned.