Please note: this event will be held exclusively in Russian. All discussion, Q&A, and materials will be in Russian only, and no translation will be provided.

Join Evgeny Feldman for a talk about his book Мечтатели против Космонавтов (Dreamers vs. Cosmonauts), written about his experience of watching and documenting recent history of the political events in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. 

“A riddle: A minibus is driving through Siberia. Seven people are asleep, while two are fiercely arguing about politics. 

The answer: That’s me travelling from city to city during the presidential campaign, while the campaign’s photographer, Evgeny Feldman, keeps making statements I completely disagree with.

By our agreement, he is part of the campaign but remains entirely independent. We don’t tell him what to shoot or influence his selection of photos. Naturally, this independence has only made Evgeny more eager to argue with me.

But the debates were interesting, and the photos were excellent. I’m happy with the result.” – Alexei Navalny, 2023

You’ve seen Evgeny Feldman’s photos, even if you don’t know his name. The sweeping panorama of the Bolotnaya Square protest, Alexei Navalny with instant noodles, and on his way to the Central Election Commission, clashes with the Berkut riot police on the Maidan, the grim "prisoner of war parade" in Donetsk, the human chain in Minsk; his camera has captured an entire era, and no one else has witnessed so many of its defining moments up close.

In just a few years, a teenager who once took a point-and-shoot camera to punk gigs became Russia’s most renowned documentary photographer – while the country slid into brutal repression and full-scale war. To honestly portray each step of that descent, Feldman risked his life repeatedly and defied countless bans. That is why the book in which he recounts his work reads as both a tragedy and an adventure novel.

Feldman’s book, Мечтатели против космонавтов (Dreamers vs. Cosmonauts: The Courage and Tragedy of the Anti-Putin Protest) will be available for purchase at the event. 

Evgeny Feldman is a Russian photographer and photo editor. Born in 1991, he grew up in Moscow and graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in psychology. From 2012 to 2016, he was a staff photographer for Novaya Gazeta. As an independent photographer, he has collaborated with Mashable, Meduza, The Washington Post, and GQ Russia. Since 2021, he has been working as a photographer and photo editor at Meduza.

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