Alina Smutko
documentary photographer

In post-Soviet territory unrecognized republics are scattered around the map like beads. After mutual accusations, after mutual insults, after mutual killings the pieces of countries are increasingly divided. Nowadays between the conflicting regions of the 90’s is the gulf, which rude is in thousands of unforgiven ruined lives.

 

The unrecognized republics, which de jure belong to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova, and are de facto influenced by neighboring states or political leaders of the region, have been settling their lives for a quarter of a century. Abkhazia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh are still under the threat of economic blockades, their passports are not valid anywhere in the world, and their citizens are forced to use semi-legal Russian, Romanian or Armenian documents. The budgets of these republics are not self-sufficient without the subsidies of the “big brothers”, but they still continue to dream of total separation, of the independence promised to them once. About schools and books in their native language, about the greatness of their own culture, about the triumph of ephemeral historical justice.

 

This project is about the everyday life of the unrecognized republics. I went there as a student to understand what is separation and why it is needed, to understand what will happen to the territory of Ukraine, which is also crippled by the war. What will happen to them in 20-25 years? Perhaps, I was looking for calming down, for a hint that everything will be as before. For Ukraine, and for Moldova, and for Georgia, and for all of us. However, it seems I have found something else.

ABKHAZIA

TRANSNISTRIA