The Island of Crimea

When I was a child, Crimea always seemed like a sacred, apolitical place. It was an island with distinctive mythology and traces of ancient civilizations. It was there that I saw the sea for the first time. The Crimean peninsula draws its own identity from a melting pot of peoples. In the year 1783, this place of different cultural and religious practices became part of the Russian Empire and gained fame for being the location of the Tsar’s residence. Following the creation of the Soviet Union, Crimea would reframe itself as no longer a place of relaxation for the elite, but instead a Soviet people’s resort. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the peninsula became part of Ukraine, and in March 2014 was incorporated into Russian territory. Crimea would then become known as the centre of the main political conflicts of the past five years. Sanctions and individual restrictions on the territory of Crime have increased the sense of isolation. Within the realms of childhood and local mythology came the interference of a new political stratum.

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Image from the The Island of Crimea photography project
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Low quality of service and high prices in hotels of Crimea make them unpopular with young people. The main residents are pensioners, nostalgic for the USSR. Novy Svet village

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Abandoned sanatorium on the shore of Lake Mainaki. Many buildings on the peninsula are abandoned or unfinished. Yevpatoria
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Abandoned sanatorium on the shore of Lake Mainaki. Many buildings on the peninsula are abandoned or unfinished. Yevpatoria

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Tasting of wine during the excursion to the factory of champagne. Novy Svet village
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Tasting of wine during the excursion to the factory of champagne. Novy Svet village

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Female half of the Juma Jami mosque, Yevpatoriya
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Female half of the Juma Jami mosque, Yevpatoriya

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Locals take baths in a sulfur source. Dzhankoy district, Novaya zhizn' village
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Locals take baths in a sulfur source. Dzhankoy district, Novaya zhizn' village

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Image from the The Island of Crimea photography project
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Abandoned territory of the international open-air festival "Kazantip" in village Popovka, held there from 2001 to 2014, Popovka Village

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Graduates of the school on the "Last Bell" day. Armyansk city
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Graduates of the school on the "Last Bell" day. Armyansk city

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - The Golitsyn trail is one of the most popular hiking trails in the Crimea. The Village Novy Svet
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The Golitsyn trail is one of the most popular hiking trails in the Crimea. The Village Novy Svet

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - The hero of Russian folk tales on the city embankment. Yevpatoria city
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The hero of Russian folk tales on the city embankment. Yevpatoria city

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Locals watch the sunset. Novaya zhizn' village
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Locals watch the sunset. Novaya zhizn' village

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Disco in a cafe on the city promenade. Sudak
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Disco in a cafe on the city promenade. Sudak

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Image from the The Island of Crimea photography project
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Niyar Bekirova and her family were deported from the Crimea to Uzbekistan in 1944 as a result of Stalin's decision to evict the Crimean Tatars from the territory of the peninsula. Yevpatoria city

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Celebration of the liberation of the city of Yevpatoria from the German troops in the Second World War. Yevpatoria city
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Celebration of the liberation of the city of Yevpatoria from the German troops in the Second World War. Yevpatoria city

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Image from the The Island of Crimea photography project
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The man in the sacred grove of Karaimes, one of the indigenous peoples of peninsula. Bakhchisaray district, fortress city Chufut-Kale

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Educators of the Nakhimov Naval School. Sevastopol
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Educators of the Nakhimov Naval School. Sevastopol

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Jewish Community. Yevpatoria city
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Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Jewish Community. Yevpatoria city

© Stanislava Novgorodtseva - Bather at the city beach. Yevpatoria city
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Bather at the city beach. Yevpatoria city

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