Chegdomyn

Chegdomyn, The Russian Far East. 2019-2022.

This photographic project is dedicated to the life of an average mining settlement in Russia with all its problems: environmental damage, remoteness from major cities, temporary workers, crime, aggressive modern machinery and a grim surrounding reality, relatively high local wages and poverty at the same time.

The settlement of Chegdomyn, with a population of 11,000, is located in the Russian Far East, 650 km north of Khabarovsk. It can only be reached by an old train in about 16 hours. There is no permanent road connection, although in winter travel is possible over frozen ground through swamp areas.

Working conditions and nature there are extremely harsh: temperatures range from +40°C during the very short summer to −45°C in winter. The population is constantly declining, so most workers in the coal pits and mines are rotational workers arriving from the surrounding regions. This temporary attitude creates a threat to the very beautiful surrounding nature and to the health of local residents.

The development of the Urgal coal district began in the 1930s through political prisoners of Stalinist labor camps, many of whom died. Settlements in the region were formed among barracks, some of which still remain, and mining infrastructure of the Stalinist era. Even now, ninety years later, many residents of the settlement have prison experience behind them, and public safety remains a serious issue.

Nevertheless, I wanted to portray these people, their work, daily life and the surrounding nature with empathy, because despite the harsh life, they preserve humor and a love of life.

Birobidzhan railway station, Russia. Passengers of the train to Chegdomyn have stepped onto the platform.

Far East, Russia. Chegdomyn. 2019. The final station of a railway built in part by political prisoners of Stalinist labor camps. The sign reads: “Happiness Is Not Far Away.”

Russian Far East. Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. Coal dust from trucks carrying coal along the road from the open-pit mines into the settlement.

Russian Far East. Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. Driver of a 220-ton open-pit mining dump truck.

Russian Far East. Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. Urgal Cinema. In the background, a bust of Lenin; on the right, an inflatable bouncy castle with Pokémon figures. On the poster: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. An administrative wooden barrack relocated from the Stalinist Burey Lag camp.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. Remnants of nature near an open-pit coal mine.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. An apartment in a wooden barrack from the 1930s.

Luchegorsk, Russian Far East, Russia. 2022. Coal dust on the windows of a thermal power station.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. Children’s clinic.

Sagan-Nur, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. 2019. Children in a coal-mining settlement.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. A 220-ton open-pit mining dump truck against the backdrop of a coal mine.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. A sprout breaking through a coal waste heap surrounding the open-pit mine.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. Road from the open-pit coal mine to the settlement.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. A child in the settlement eating bread.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. A young man gathering firewood for the winter.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. A mine cart before descending into the coal mine.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. A miner washes his hands in water breaking through into the coal mine. Having passed through hundreds of meters of coal as a natural filter, it is among the purest on the planet, yet it is dangerous for miners.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. An Old Believer bathing in a stream.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. Children among old residential wooden barracks.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. A private house on the edge of a cliff, beyond which taiga and open-pit coal mines stretch for dozens of kilometers.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2019. A swamp near the open-pit coal mine.

Chegdomyn, Russia. 2022. A rotational worker on the train returning to Khabarovsk after a month-long shift. Such trains often turn into one long vodka bar at the end of a work cycle.

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