disappearing land. Ukraine

A journey through a vanishing world Modern life erases differences between countries, their fragile beauty and authenticity.

A journey through a vanishing world

Modern life erases differences between countries, their fragile beauty and authenticity. The story tells about tranquility and aesthetics of little towns, people's ways of living that become a thing of the past:

a little Kushugum, where my father was born and my grandparents passed away; a frozen in time mom's city Zaporozhie; a warmth of the great-grandmother in tiny Orikhiv.

November, 2012. Ukraine

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - The Catalpa tree in Zaporizhzhya near my grandmother's home. Zaporizhzhya, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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The Catalpa tree in Zaporizhzhya near my grandmother's home. Zaporizhzhya, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - The house of my grandmother. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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The house of my grandmother. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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My father making a post-funeral meal to feed the guests who will came back to my grandmother's house after the funeral. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - The city viewed from the Cable car in Yalta. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.
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The city viewed from the Cable car in Yalta. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - The grandmother's dog in the garden. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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The grandmother's dog in the garden. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - An old woman draging her small cart with cement. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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An old woman draging her small cart with cement. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Catalpa is a very common tree in Zaporizhzhya. Zaporizhzhya, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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Catalpa is a very common tree in Zaporizhzhya. Zaporizhzhya, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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Little pond near Zaporizhzhya on the way to the local cemetery. We wanted to visit my second grandmother. Zaporizhzhya, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - A food store near my grandmother's home. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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A food store near my grandmother's home. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - At the train on the way from Russia to Ukraine. Eating salmon caviar and russian crepes called "bliny".
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At the train on the way from Russia to Ukraine. Eating salmon caviar and russian crepes called "bliny".

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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The house and the courtyard are separeted by a wrought-iron fence between of the nearest relatives. The fence roof. Vineyards are very common in Ukraine, they are often used as sun protection outside or as green fence. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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Vineyards are very common in Ukraine, they are often used as sun protection outside or as green fence. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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My grandfather passed away that day. My father is visiting place of his childhood where he was born: little Kushugum on the river near big city Zaporozhie, Ukraine. He moved to Russia with my mum many years ago and lives in Russia. It is a common story, that happen with people from USSR. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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Vineyards are very common in Ukraine, they are often used as a sun protection outside, in the courtyard. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - The sea and the city viewed from the window of the hotel. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.
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The sea and the city viewed from the window of the hotel. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Ukraine through the train window. Ukraine.
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Ukraine through the train window. Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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Old roofs of the Yalta, - a resort city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - An old woman draging her small cart down the street. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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An old woman draging her small cart down the street. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - The Cacti Greenhouse of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.
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The Cacti Greenhouse of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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A local city market in Zaporizhzhya. The woman is buying "Salo" - a traditional Ukrainian food (originated also from Ukraine): cured slabs of fatback, with or without skin. Zaporizhzhya, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Seafront. The fishers on the quay in Yalta. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.
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Seafront. The fishers on the quay in Yalta. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Old roofs viewed from the Cableway in Yalta. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.
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Old roofs viewed from the Cableway in Yalta. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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The wather is still warm, - Yalta has a humid subtropical climate that closely borders on a mediterranean climate, but it's November and locals call it "winter". Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - An old woman draging her small cart. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.
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An old woman draging her small cart. Kushugum, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - disappearing Viscum through the train window. Ukraine.
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disappearing Viscum through the train window. Ukraine.

© Natalia Shlyakhovaya - Image from the disappearing land. Ukraine photography project
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Yalta's landing pier and a beautiful embankment along the Black Sea. In the childhood we often took a boat ride between Gurzuf village on the east and Foros on the west with many resort villages on the coastal area. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.

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