Dark Site

Drugs are now sold through online darknet stores, couriers hide them in secluded places in cities - leaving “bundles”. Bundles form a new layer of the modern city, hidden from ordinary people. A digital shadow lies on the surface of our cities.

In Russia, more than a quarter of prisoners are serving sentences for drug-related crimes, which is why it has been dubbed the people's article. Most of the drugs are now sold through online darknet stores, and then couriers hide them in secluded places in cities - leaving “bundles”. Consumers receive coordinates and photos of the place. “Bundles” form another layer of the modern city, hidden from ordinary people, but existing for consumers, couriers, and police officers.

 

For shooting, I've used a broken digital camera, which deforms images. The darknet and a digital camera have one origin — the binary number system, the basis of all digital technologies and devices. In my opinion, this visual way emphasizes the deforming influence of drugs on the human personality and discloses relations between the darknet and us. The darknet casts its shadow on our world, deforming the familiar space of cities. Also, this visual approach accorded well with the traditions of documentary photography. On the one hand, I don't develop my photos, all images are born inside the camera. On the other hand, it invites us to think about the nature of photographic images.

 

The distribution of drugs through the darknet was a technological revolution, expanding the range of consumers and simplifying purchases. The situation is exacerbated by extremely repressive legislation. Even for possession of a small amount of drugs, a person will be convicted of a serious crime, which will subsequently greatly complicate his resocialization. The lack of a well-established rehabilitation system and stigmatization by society only intensify the alienation of people with this experience.

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I also have a unique digital exhibit for this project.

http://dark-site.skaganga.ru/

This is both an interactive game and a way to exhibit the project in digital form. The user can play a game to search for photos and captions. This game symbolizes the process of buying drugs. In reality, people after purchasing drugs on online darknet stores search for them in an urban environment and in the courtyards of multi-storey buildings. For the game, I photographed a circular panorama of a typical Russian courtyard in a residential area. The circle of light around the mouse cursor symbolizes the flashlight that people use to search for hidden drugs. Also, the user can always view a narrative story (by clicking the "photo" button) made of photographs and captions to them. I dream of panoramic exposure in video projection so that the viewer can seem to be inside this world.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Sergei (fictional name) When I ended up in prison, it quickly became obvious, that if I am not to take extraordinary measures, I will be dead! I offered the administration to work as a secretary. I’ve prepared reports, wrote dissertations, consulted the higher ups on legal matters. I’ve made it through, and when my time was up, I was free. As I see it, most of the inmates did time for drug possession. It’s unlikely, that they will be able to return to normal life after such an experience. Our government is only good for beating and maiming.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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We are witnessing a digital drug revolution. There is a huge amount of drugs being sold in darknet stores. Every day in Russian cities, 200-300 million rubles worth of pawns are hidden, and buyers make more than a hundred thousand transactions. Payment for purchases is made in bitcoins, which are then "laundered" with the help of specialized services - "mixers".

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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- A few years ago, I moved to St. Petersburg, I was making money streaming. I started using stimulants to maintain my tone and relaxation. One evening I went to get a “bundle” and was caught by the police. They took me to the police station and offered to "solve" the issue, but I had no money. In the end, the judge gave me a two-year suspended sentence.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Most of the drugs are sold through the darknet and are hidden in the form of “bundles” in secluded places in cities. Using the Tor browser, buyer enters the darknet. There are large marketplaces somewhat resembling Amazon. The user can purchase a huge selection of substances from competing stores. After the transaction, the buyer receives the coordinates of the place where the bundle is hidden and its photographs.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Sasha I was 19 years old. Our company was united by the spark that we produced artificially. We stuck around. It all started at school. My friend has been exploring the darknet since he was 13 years old. We smoked hashish in the 8th grade, and in the 10th-11th we were already sitting tightly on mephedrone. We are not children from the ghetto, we studied in ordinary schools. Pasha died first. Another friend of mine, Danya, started working as a bundleman at the age of 15. Who will suspect a minor? The first 3 years he was in the safe zone, but when he turned 18 he was caught by the police. We were together, I was given an administrative fine for drug use. Danya got jailed for 5 years for distribution. Danya, together with his girlfriend Masha, framed our other friend Lyova. Lyova is Masha's ex-boyfriend, perhaps it was her revenge for the breakup. As a result, two guys are now in prison, and recently it turned out that Masha is also under investigation. In the end, only I am free.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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After buying drugs on the darknet, the buyer goes to collect the bundle. The store sends you the coordinates and a few photos of the place where the bundle lies. Bundle hunting is dangerous. The police are looking for people who seek something or walk around the same place for a long time. They may search you or ask you to show your hands in case you try to dig up your bundle.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Vlad (fictional name) "It was a cop's setup. A friend invited me to a party at his house and asked for help with weed. We met and I was detained. I am an 18 year old guy who was given three years in prison. Now I work in a cultural institution in a good position, but I hide my story to the general public. My boss knows I have a criminal record, but the world doesn't! In our country, this can cause serious reputational damage. In Russia, drug use is highly stigmatized, people are afraid to even say the word drugs, and they consider drug addicts to be second-rate people. I hate to hide this fact of my biography. It's like an inner ugliness that not everyone can accept. I have developed adaptation mechanisms that help me, but of course I would like to talk about it openly."

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Drugs are distributed in "bundles" - a small amount of drugs tightly wrapped in duct tape. Store courier, called "bundler", hides bundles in the urban environment. The courier attaches bundles to fences, downpipes, and electrical panels with magnets. Sometimes bundles are buried in parks and cemeteries, sometimes drugs are hidden in the entrances of high-rise buildings. The profession of a bundler is considered well paid by Russian standards, but they are usually quickly caught by the police.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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A smartphone is a door and a key at the same time. For consumers, it is a tool for buying and searching for drugs. But smartphone is also a bundler's tool - a person who hides drugs throughout the city. This is a technological revolution of the process of buying and selling drugs. Today you do not need to know the dealer personally and meet them. The anonymity of the drug acquisition process has attracted new users from all walks of life.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Vasiliy "I've been on the darknet for over a decade. Buying drugs there wasn't so mainstream before. Now this is not a cyber-nerd forum, but a full-fledged, convenient marketplace. I saw the vacancy of a bundler, and thought: why not try it? It was safe then, the police did not know about this way of distributing drugs. I took a master bundle of 100-200 grams of amphetamine, packed it into 1-gram doses and made bundles. I gave up on my studies, easy money quickly corrupts. I did not experience a moral dilemma. I'd rather made money on this than anyone else does. This is business. I did not fully realize my risks, naturally I thought that I would not get caught. Everything ended, as it should be - detention. I was lucky that while the trial was going on, the Federal Drug Control Service was being reformed. The officers who detained me did not come to court. And I received a suspended sentence for storage. Now the main problem is that because of my criminal record I can't find a decent job."

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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The Russian police cannot adequately respond to new challenges of the digital age. The police either don't want to deal with shopkeepers on the dark web, or they don't have the tools. Basically, they accidentally catch bundlers and drug users. Bundlers are pawns in this game, but it is them who get huge sentences as drug dealers. Possession of drugs is also criminalized. Even for possession of a small amount of drugs, a person can get a prison sentence of up to 10 years. And the drug-related crimes themselves are considered by the legal system as a serious offence, so after serving a sentence, it is difficult for people to find a job.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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After Russia's attack on Ukraine, Hydra ceased to function - a trading platform that owns a monopoly in the territory of the post-Soviet space. The Hydra servers were arrested and confiscated by the German police. In its place, new trading platforms have appeared, waging war for sellers and buyers.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Anna and Ilya. They both served a suspended sentence for drug possession. "We met in private rehabilitation. If you register with a state drug dispensary, you may be deprived of parental rights and you would not receive a car license. Therefore, in Russia, rehabilitation is a gray business. Many companies try to make money on drug users, while their methods of treatment drug addiction is in the Middle Ages. People are beaten, imprisoned, not provided with psychological assistance. I was lucky that my parents had money for good doctors." Anya

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Big stores have a lot of staff. The administrator and operators communicate with customers, respond to reviews and resolve conflicts in case of poor quality of goods or not finding the bundle. There is a staff of couriers who hide bundles in the city. Chemists and growers brew synthetic drugs and grow cannabis. Drivers transport master bundles - large quantities of drugs.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Stas (fictional name) They’ve taken me with a gram of hash on my hands, while I was hitchhiking in Russia. It was enough to sentence me for a year of probation. Because drug possession is considered to be a felony, I am prohibited to work with children. Although I have a degree in Education and Child Psychology. I sincerely love my work. But because of a wrongdoing, I’ve conducted when I was eighteen years old, I have to work on semi-legal basis. I have a stigma! I’ve tried to dispute this in court, but it was unsuccessful.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Prohibitionist and repressive drug policies create serious problems for a country's economy, especially when its population is aging and shrinking. This policy leads to the withdrawal of a large number of able-bodied citizens from the economy, increasing the burden on pension funds.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Sergei I used drugs like a madman, lived in a den. But when the police started hunting for me, I’ve decided to quit: either jail or withdrawal. It turned out that finding a decent rehabilitation centre is a no easy task. In Russia, one cannot openly voice one’s drug problems without some kind of infringement of rights. Because of that rehabilitation is a shadow business without any guarantees. I was lucky to end up at a Protestant centre. After a couple of years, I was able to reintegrate into society with no fear of a relapse. Now I have a wife, a job and an apartment. I’m incredibly lucky! With that in mind, I try to volunteer for and support people suffering from drug abuse.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Unfortunately, the drug policy of the Russian Federation has not changed in recent decades, as a result of which people suffering from drug addiction cannot get help and establish their lives, while others who use for recreational purposes but are not addicted to drugs receive legal or extra-legal punishment from law enforcement agencies.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Ivan (fictional name) I am a policeman. If you catch a bundleman or a drug addict, then it will take at least 2-3 hours to complete the protocol. But, by and large, the detainee is either a pawn in the world of drug trafficking, or a consumer. That is, the contribution to public safety is minimal. We have so few employees, and yet there is theft and violent crime. In general, I don't like doing this. Although there is a certain excitement from this game of cat and mouse. Drugs must be fought on a different level.

© Skaganga - Image from the Dark Site photography project
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Repressive drug policies exacerbate the already existing stigmatization of drug users, making them the target of law enforcement harassment rather than providing them with the necessary medical and psychosocial support. This approach not only increases the social exclusion of this vulnerable group, but also prevents its members from accessing treatment and rehabilitation.