Over-coming

2018 (Moscow, Russia) - now (Santa Clara, USA)

The history of Stalin’s repressions in the USSR and the Gulag remains globally relevant as a stark reminder of authoritarian violence, political persecution, and the dangers of historical amnesia. Mass incarceration, forced labor, and the suppression of dissent—tactics used in the Soviet Union—continue to echo in modern regimes, making it crucial to examine this past.

About 11 million of people were victims of Stalin's repressions, including about 5 millions of political prisoners of GULAG (the system of Soviet labour prisons and camps), and about 1 million of people who were executed.

In 2018 I juxtaposed letters written to my great-grandfather by his former fellow-prisoner from Gulag labor camp with photographs of my children. The children’s photos were covered by a semi-transparent fabric, making them barely visible and blurred—just as an unprocessed past clouds the possibility of a free future.

Now I am working with rare photographs from the Dubravlag labor camp, recreating them on a larger scale using fragmented paper method. This technique mirrors the way memory works—when we try to recall something in detail, we focus on the event, piecing together fragments of memories to reconstruct a larger picture. Also, I make color portraits of political prisoners in Russia nowadays.

Portrait of Eugenia Berkovich, a political prisoner in Russia now

Portrait of Diodor Debolsky for the GULAG case

Dubravlag - a labour camp in Mordovia, part of GULAG camps system

Sakhalin - a labour camp in Sakhalin, part of GULAG camps system

Portrait of Svetlana Petriychuk, a political prisoner in Russia now

My great-grandfather, Debolsky Diodor Dmitrievich (1892-1963), served his second political term from 1949 to 1955 in Dubravlag labour camp (Mordovia). He was convicted because he attended reading group of Indian philosophy lovers and that sounded suspicious for the Soviet authorities. After labour camp, he held correspondence with some of his campmates, successfully gained rehabilitation on his first attempt after filing numerous petitions and letters. His correspondent, Vladimir Sushinsky, was denied on his initial request. In his letters, he expresses deep pain over the rejection, explaining how the political conviction destroyed his family life and caused his relatives to abandon him. He tries to comfort himself, suggesting that maybe rehabilitation isn’t that important after all. Yet, his words reveal how vitally significant it is for him to regain some sense of meaning in his life. Eventually, he finds the courage to reapply for rehabilitation. However, he dies before receiving a response.