Leningrad Region



Leningrad Region

Name: Alexander Solo

Age: 39

Profession: Photographer

City: Leningrad Region. I live in Pikalyova.

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you? Since childhood. In general, I studied to be an artist, but photography won out. I was too restless to be an artist. But for a photographer restlessness is a virtue.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for? Pikalyova is located not far from the St. Petersburg-Vologda road. City-forming enterprises produce alumina and cement.

What is something about your city that only locals would know? In 2008, the cement factory was almost shut down; for a few months people did not receive their salaries. The local union did its job well and organized protest actions. The strikers closed the federal highway that passes near the city, and Putin came and sorted everything out. He is our benefactor. Now everyone in the city is staying put, do not want to leave, and believe that if something happens, Putin will come to their aid. But it's better to live without hope – it forces you to stir, to do something. Now the tendency is to act like this: as soon as there is a production downturn and people start to grumble, they send some people with briefcases, suddenly payrolls are paid and the factory has a state order. In order that there not be an uprising. But what comes of this? Does life get any better? If the factory is making things that no one wants to buy and the goverment forces someone to buy it? Does our life improve as a result?

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city? The ski path that runs along the city's edge. Despite the fact that smoke from smokestacks is visible from there, the air is clean.

The Firebird graffiti. Gleb Tyurin, a businessman and public figure who is committed to the city's development, brought in a famous graffiti artist and he did several paintings throughout the city. They promoted it all nicely; locals scratched their heads for a long time, grumbled and said it was money wasted; in short, they didn't have a clue why they needed it. But soon enough the entire city began to be covered with wall murals by local artists. These are definitely worth checking out.

Anything else you would like to add? I and some other photographers travel the country, and Leningrad Region in particular, in order to tell others about something that is interesting, alive, entertaining and Russian. We want to bring it to life, in order to prove that, first of all, there is something good in our country. Our project "Invisible Cities",  is a documentary project dedicated to Russian industrial towns. There are hundreds of cities in Russia, where life depends on the "city-forming" enterprise. There is a special word for these towns in Russian: моногород (monogorod), combining the words "single" and "town," meaning a single company town.

Personal photo website

Invisible Cities website

Invisible Cities Instagram: @monogoroda

 



Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955