At the dawn of the 20th century, Ye. S. Mesropyants was one of the few photographers to be based in the multicultural city of Derbent, located in southern Dagestan on the shores of the Caspian sea. Aside from several cabinet portraits, no precise facts regarding Mesropyants’ studio have been found. The people depicted in his photographs were mostly from the Russian and Armenian communities of the city - merchants, officials, teachers, and so on. From a purely photographic perspective, these images are extremely formal and conventional, but they possess undeniable historical value. Judging from the period details and technical features of the photographs, we assume that Mesropyants' pavilion functioned until the mid-1910s.​

Vigen Galstyan, 2018