Hometown

In Hometown I interrogate the Soviet and post-Soviet past and consider how it has bent and shaped contemporary Russian reality. I look back to the history of my hometown to discover the origins of the l catastrophe unfolding before our eyes today. At the same time, moving through its dramatic history and facing down its ghosts, I try to find out why it continues to be so dear to me.

To some extent, this project continues from previous preoccupations in my work now, however, I study these spaces and stories from a new perspective, knowing where the paradoxes of the past can lead.

I focus on my hometown of Dzerzhinsk, which has suffered a destiny typical of many post-Soviet industrial cities. Dzerzhinsk is a city named after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet Secret Police (NKVD). It is a city of workers and chemical factories built during WW1 and WW2 to produce weapons. In the second half of the 20th century, these factories were repurposed frequently. Some of them collapsed altogether with the Soviet Union, but others survived and are now being renovated and reused. Dzerzhinsk was badly affected by the economic crises of the 90s and 00s. Now, it has a problematic ecological situation, and a high crime rate and also suffers from ongoing depopulation. For me, Dzerzhinsk represents the true Russia.