The images in Russian Past – The Gulag were taken in Karelia and in the Russian Far East. In portraying the events that took place under Stalin I wish to draw attention to a tragic historical phase and to keep alive the memory of a persecution which has been mostly neglected. Most final photographs are composites, which combine my own images with historical ones. At times, the same locations and buildings had already been photographed at the time of the events. The composite approach enables me to visualize the passing of time, the contrast between the past and the present.
Formally a Mechanical engineer, I became a photographer in 2001. I graduated from Belarusian Polytechnic Institute with Master Degree in Thermodynamics. Currently I am completing the degree in Photography Technology at WCC in Ann Arbor. During the last eighteen years I have attended numerous workshops at Santa Fe, Maine and TWP photographic workshops. I had chance to met and study with outstanding teachers, they are the most influential photographers of our time who changed the way I look at the world. The list includes: Sam Abell, Antonin Krotochvil, Eugene Richards, Alex Majoli, Andrea Modic
