An Artist Brings Life Back to Russia's Abandoned Villages
Alexei Mednoy captured a "Disappearing Way of Life" in his unusual art project.
In Ivanovo oblast not far from Moscow, one in four villages has been abandoned in the last decade.
An artist, Alexei Mednoy, grew up in a village but hadn't been back for about 15 years after his father died. When he returned, he found silent and empty houses, slowly falling down amid overgrown fields.
He decided to "repopulate" them with his portraits.
An artist, Alexei Mednoy, grew up in a village but hadn't been back for about 15 years after his father died. When he returned, he found silent and empty houses, slowly falling down amid overgrown fields.
He decided to "repopulate" them with his portraits.
The village of Ratmanikha
Julia Braytseva / MT
There is no road to Ratmanikha these days.
Julia Braytseva / MT
To get to the village, you need to walk through a field and then find a place to cross a small river, since the bridge washed out many years ago.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Ratmanikha was once a prosperous village.
Julia Braytseva / MT
An old woman here recalled that there were once 500 houses in this village, all filled with families.
Julia Braytseva / MT
A man from another village remembers when these houses were full of people and life.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Mednoi painted portraits of the villagers from photographs of the original inhabitants.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Every family kept livestock.
Julia Braytseva / MT
It was, a neighbor recalled, a rich life.
Julia Braytseva / MT
"We used to get together here and have parties."
Julia Braytseva / MT
Children were educated in a local school.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Families kept chickens, geese, ducks, pigs, and cows.
Julia Braytseva / MT
The people were self-sufficient.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Everyone worked the land throughout their lives.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Mednoi paints his portraits on plywood and then nails them to the houses.
Julia Braytseva / MT
He wanted to re-inhabit the village with some of the people who once lived here.
Julia Braytseva / MT
The farms had once been productive, and the farmers could sell their extra food and crafts at city markets.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Today city markets are commercial organizations with few local producers.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Mednoi hoped people would see his his portraits across the empty fields.
Julia Braytseva / MT
The artist wants people to feel the contrast between the rich, colorful life that once was...
Julia Braytseva / MT
... and the empty, ramshackle village that exists now.
Julia Braytseva / MT
Perhaps, he Mednoi says, people will wonder why this is happening...
Julia Braytseva / MT
... and see the beauty that has been left to rot away.
Julia Braytseva / MT
There are more than 600 villages with no inhabitants in Ivanovo oblast today.
Julia Braytseva / MT
