DCMV is a continuous project that depicts the lives of people that live in Russian Federation.

Don’t Call Me Vodka

 

Growing up in Russia, the communist morality and ethics are an ever present part of society. People in Russia do not live, they survive. The project took place across Saratov, Russia, using a 35mm camera to highlight the post-Soviet nostalgia that is still so palpable in this city.


The core of this project is intrinsically reminiscent of my Russian childhood. After visiting quite a rural and isolated parts of my hometown, I captured ex-convicts, war veterans, and working class people. Multiple interviews were conducted about life before, during, and after prison, highlighting the struggle for these people to identify themselves with certain social groups and to contribute to every day life. However, at the core of the project, themes of political oppression, depression, addiction, and corruption were explored. 

Vitya

Half of the country is locked down - and the other half is watching them.
Years of 89x, 90x - there was nothing - there was no money. When I was 15 years old, we earned money by; robbing apartments, stealing scholarship from students. We were a gang of 15 people we were in year 9.

What about now, what are young people doing?

“Everything is different. Drugs are everywhere. Kids used to steal in 89x, 90 х, now they take loans and never return the money back.”

Sorry, for such a straightforward question, but have you ever been in imprisoned yourself?

“Yes, I was in 4 (name of the prison located in Saratov, Russia). So figuratively speaking, everyone is sitting in a swamp. If you want to have respect you would have to sit on somebody's shoulders. So you are up on somebody's shoulders, and not drown up to the ankles anymore, and those people would lead you until is enough.”

Could you tell me more about surviving inside the prison?

“There is a system, similar as on the outside. 80% of people that you are surrounded by are degraded people, this system pressures you constantly. If you stay inside for more than the period of 5 years, you grab those characteristics and they will start to affect your social circle.

In the out I lived life as in prison, therefore got imprisoned because of it. Back inside i broke bread with leader of the gang. Who was responsible for 200 people. I can say that I was brave, once I told him that two bears in one den would not get along, he was under forty, I was twenty-five. I had support.

The owner ( the main director of the prison) tried to pressure me - he tried to arrange my stay with the activists. They fought with me until the last moment, then the owner offered me to become a watchman, I refused. I was thrown into the isolated sell with other inmates, they immediately told me; ‘Whoever closes one eye will not wake up’. I sat awake for a day, sat with guys, they wanted to remove us all one by one.

I was pressured because - I was in prison for murder, roughly speaking - there was one dead body and another one was beaten up. It was a policeman. The owner and I agreed that I would go to prison, I gave my word that I would sit in the mass and would I not do anything.”

Has something changed in Saratov over the past years?

“Officials do business, prosecutors are businessmen. If you don’t have the resources for yourself, you will accomplish nothing.”

Slava


Were you born in Saratov?

“No, I was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine. I am Russian and my parents left for Saratov when was still very young. Kremenchuk town is almost like Balokovo. I was a year and a three month when we moved to Balakovo, we moved to a new house, there was no hot water, so it was bathing in cold water would mean that you could have catch a disease pretty easy especially in winter.

I was three years old when my dad died. Perhaps if my dad wouldn't be dead - I wouldn't had spend most of life in prison. 

I only lived in Saratov in years of 90-91, 2007-2008, these are mare gasps of free air. And, now I am out from 2016-present. I am 51 years old and I spent most of life in the zone.”

 

Roman

He wrote, to Putin, he came out to Red Square, and he said: ‘Putin-shame on you’- that person was sent to prison for three years, so here it is-the big difference, you live in England almost as in under God’s arm, but here you never know what is going to happen to you tomorrow.

What is your opinion about Putin, and what did he do to you?

“For me he is a thief, for me he is the military.

In our country people are slaves, people in Russia are phenomenally foolish, they are controlled by the government, people who don’t want to do anything, people who are waiting for a rich person to come and solve all the problems for them, because of that, in the government people like Putin – are thief’s and military criminals.

When back in England the underground was starting to built, in Russia only slavery was officially banned. Life in Europe is better, there it least what you have is yours and nobody will take it away from you, here on the other hand everything from you can be taking away at any moment, here if you are not friendly with the government, they can easily imprison you, anything can happen to you, you never know what will happen next day.”

Larisa Ivanovna Kristarova


What is your opinion on V.V Putin?

“I love him, I despised Boris Yeltsin at a time, however Putin has the sense of communication, he constantly does something, however we all live in bad conditions, we do not have anything, because ourselves we are lazy. So, some of the people curse Soviet Union empowerment, but at that time we were hard working, we were never late for work, and look at the situation now, people come to work not caring, that just come to collect their salary.”

Do you think corruption in our country has increased during Putin’s presidency?

“Ofcourse, some of the people that we have are very rich having billions, and we have people who actually are hardworking, the ones that go to work where the salary is larger, we do not have people that work because they like their job- job has to me almost as the daily celebration for you. Overall we do bad things to each other. Everything has to be linked to love and God… pension slowly buy growth, 700p (£10) were added lately, before it was 13,345p (£189.69) and now it is 14,000 (£199,00) but living with this money is still impossible as only 12,000p (£170,00) goes to you rent and how do you suppose to live with the rest.”

Anonymous/Miller Street


I was born here in Saratov, I live here all my life, my parents overall are pleasant, but myself - I am antisocial element, you could ask, how did I end up here? Well our life was like that. My first time that I have tried drugs was in 1998, we had it here simply everywhere, and even at that time I knew that it was bad, even had examples of close friends, in a sense that their life was broken. However the moment came and I have wanted to try it and I did - at first I did not like it. Even though you have to give the difference to drugs, I ve tried almost everything- in comparison to all - I love heroin/ opium, I don’t consider weed as the drug at all. When I tried heroin it was the last moment, it was the moment that changed everything, well I did live and I am still living...
I have positive view towards Putin, but of course there were moments in which people were spectacle towards him, at that time every body was negative towards everything because it was 90s. Right now I am nearly 40 years old, from the age of 19, you could say 20 years old – somebody would consider it a life, most of them don’t even live that long, in those years, they are all lying down there at the cemetery. Back in 90s, people were killed; lot of factories where people worked were demolished. Actually in Soviet Union, I was a pioneer once, those moments are embodied into my memory… The last time that I was imprisoned, and yeah I happen to be in prison for couple of times. First time was for – theft – second time was for – drugs, - but it is all the same thing. I was brought to it as everything else. You could be put away for anything, you could be just be at the shop and people would come and take you out.

Andrei

I prefer kalym.

Has something changed in Saratov over the course of 10 years?

“Nothing has changed. But now everything is better, we live in a good time.”

Where do you work?

“In terms of government. I still like Putin. As for me - for people, there is less crime. Not like before, before it was uncontrollable.”

Have you ever thought of leaving Saratov?

“I don’t like Saratov at all. I have never been anywhere else except Saratov, but I heard about other places from people who sat with me inside the prison.

Factories were shut down - that left us with no job.”

Can you tell me more about life when you were imprisoned?

“For 13 beds they are 40 people ’. There are never enough places in the zone, everywhere is full. Everything is far from ideal. If you work, you earn only - 300(£3.65) rubles a month. So you think what to buy either a soap or cigarettes.

I have been inside since 15 years of age. 90% of the people who are inside are drunkards. Only 10% of all are truly imprisoned for serious crimes.”

Was it difficult to adapt to normal life after being imprisoned long term? Was hard to go back to society, find a job?

“I was not looking for a job, and still am not. I receive my wife's pensionable of 8,000(£97.00) rubles monthly and my son gets another 8,000 thousand rubles up until he will be 17 years old. If I get a job, I can’t get this money.”

Psychologically, did you expect what was coming to you after you heard that you would be sent to prison?

“I was ready. I knew that they could have caught me back then, therefore I had asked around for information. When we were caught , I was not alone, there were other 7 kids"

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