Portrait Series

Yakutia is the largest constituent entity of the Russian Federation in terms of territory, surpassing Argentina in area. Almost half of the territory of Yakutia is located beyond the Arctic Circle. The region is known primarily for its extreme climatic conditions. Summers are very short here, and winters are long and cold. On the territory of Yakutia there is a "cold pole" of the Northern hemisphere – Oymyakon, where the absolute minimum temperature reaches – 71 degrees Celsius. My trip to Yakutia began in the winter month, when the lowest temperatures are kept here. I wanted to learn more and tell you how people live in this harsh and cold region. I was on my way to the Oymyakon district, popularly called the "pole of cold". My journey took place on winter roads (frozen rivers that are used as roads) and mountain serpentines. Hundreds of kilometers of snow-capped mountains, forests, cold and lack of civilization. Only rare and small settlements where people live. In the evening, when the sun was setting, for a few minutes everything was covered with an unusual blue color for me, I called it "the color of cold". The region was plunging into the night cold, from which I wanted to hide faster. Mammoths and permafrost are the real symbols of Yakutia, animals that have become extinct, but their spirit has remained here forever; and eternal ice that never melts, even in summer Due to global warming, scientists are concerned about the rapid melting of permafrost, which can lead to the destruction of the infrastructure created by man and the strengthening of the greenhouse effect on earth

Award of Excellence

Colour of Cold

Pavel Volkov
Independent
Russia

Pavel Volkov (b.22.05.1987). Russian photographer, actually lives in Moscow. Started his career in photojournalism as a freelance photographer, contributed to a couple of photo agencies in Moscow and St.Petersburg. Studied photojournalism in Galperin photofaculty and Dutch School of media. Participated in workshops organized by VU and NOOR agencies. Participant of New York Times portfolio review and Houston photofestival portfolio review. Works of photographer were shown during screenings of Visa pour l’image photofestival in Perpignan, France. Participated in numerous exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Covered the events on the Maidan, in the Crimea and south-east of the Ukraine, collaborates to Russian and international media. His main activity as a photographer, covers a wide range of social issues, mainly in Russia. He is interested in long-term projects devoted to the problems and phenomena of modern Russian society. Youth and religious movements, subcultures, army subjects, Paralympic sports attract interest of photographer. Publications in The Yew York Times lens blog, International New York Times, Der Spiegel. Washington Post, Harpers Magazine, Rolling Stones.

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