Synopses & Reviews
The photojournalist Misha Friedman is renowned for his efforts to capture life in contemporary Russia, documenting subjects as varied as political corruption, the dangers of coal mining, the tuberculosis epidemic, and the Bolshoi Ballet. In publications ranging from the
New York Times, the
Washington Post,
Time, and the
New Yorker, Friedmans grimly evocative black-and-white imagesintimate, behind-the-scenes photos” (
Time)have been credited with capturing moments of intense pathos, bleak existence, and human dignity. He has received multiple international awards for his unflinching” lens and his intrepid reporting.
For his new collection of photographs, Lyudmila and Natasha, Friedman trains his lens on a gay couple living on Saint Petersburg, offering a series of intimate snapshots of their relationship as it unfolds over the course of a year. Faced with a hostile political climate, financial difficulties, and often unstable living arrangements, the subjects of this stunning book reveal the possibilities for love in the most uncertain of times. With the fabled city of Saint Petersburg as its backdrop, Lyudmila and Natasha powerfully evokes both a vital place and the people who call it home.
Lyudmila and Natasha was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS).
Synopsis
In June 2013, the Russian parliament, spearheaded by Russia's nationalist far right, adopted a nationwide ban on "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" amid a wider crackdown on civil liberties and against a backdrop of entrenched, often violent, homophobia. In response, two Russian young women named Ludmila and Natasha have taken the incredibly brave step of agreeing to have their relationship photographed in public. This beautiful, intimate collection of color and black-and-white photographs of the two women by Misha Friedman speaks to a longer tradition of photography as protest against persecution and prejudice, and are a testament not only to their courage but to the courage of all those who publicly identify as LGBT in Russia today.
About the Author
Misha Friedman is an award-winning documentary photographer who has worked for various NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières, in Uganda, Nigeria, India, and Darfur. His recent projects deal with the tuberculosis epidemic in the former Soviet Union and corruption in Russia. His photographs have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the New Yorker, among other publications. He lives in New York City.