On the Street

Dmitry Ryzhkov is a Moscow-based street photographer whose work offers the sort of fresh, edgy view of the capital you won’t find in glossy travel brochures, or coffee table books. Actually, his work is more a portrait of the city’s residents, of the vibrant force that makes Moscow what it is. Paul Richardson caught up with Ryzhkov and talked to him about the unique challenges (and dangers) of his particular artistic passion.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I am 50 years old and live in Moscow. I’m former military. I studied nuclear physics, but that didn’t work out... I didn’t take it seriously enough. I left my studies and joined the army, serving near Chelyabinsk, not far from where the meteorite fell. This was 1983 and Afghanistan was just starting to boil. Thank God, I was sent to study in Kiev instead, which is a bit ironic, since I was born in Ukraine, when my father was in the army...