Aral for sale

A documentary photographer, a journalist from Russia. Currently resides in Australia.

This is a series about people who 50 years ago have lost a whole sea and are still getting used to living without it.

The Aral Sea is a salt lake that was located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and was one of the three largest lakes on the planet. The unreasonably high consumption of its water for irrigation of cotton fields has led to the drought of the Aral Sea. The most poisonous and fastest-growing desert on the planet formed on the site of the sea. In summer, the air heats up to 60 degrees Celsius, and salt and sand literally suspends in the air. The former port Moynaq city has gained a reputation as a “dusty face” city. Moynaq's hallmark was the cemetery of rusty ships.

4 million people are surviving on the dried shores of the Aral Sea. For half a century, people had hoped that the sea would return.

In 2019, the Uzbek government decided to change the image of the old port of Moynaq. The epicentre of ecological catastrophy must turn into the second Las Vegas, a desert entertainment centre. Former fishermen are taught to sell the memory of the Aral Sea disaster, to attract tourists and investors. Hotels, restaurants and casinos are being built where the Aral Sea used to be.