The artwork is beautiful, mostly by aging process , but I shiver thinking of the meaning of it, and all the pain it points at. So many people, so many families in despair. You know Nikolay, for me as a Swede,it is hardly possible to take in. We escaped both WW I and WW II, even if things have cast long shadows of our governments during that time. All I remember, being born in 1939, is the food coupons and the loss of fresh fruit, that was no problem for me, having not tasted them, but for my parents. and of course the planes flying by, because we lived near the airport.

An excellent piece with such power of despair. What a horrendous time for your country.

Man's inhumanity against man I will never understand. Powerful statement and photo.

Most moving.

will the human race ever learn?...your photo is very thought provoking

Nikolay, I knew & spoke with a number of Russians who came out of the Gulags, and also from WWII, and the stories were long and harrowing. I knew the effects of Stalin & others were devastating, but didn't know how many families it touched. I once spoke with a woman who worked at the world-famous Hermitage, and in 30 minutes she told me that nearly everyone who worked there—who'd been alive long enough—had been deeply effected by the tragedies of war and imprisonment, and this was just one place, one job, etc. Your montage is powerful & dark, you have a suitable sharp focus & dark tone, and as a testimony, it speaks for the horrors of what your country & others went through in the last century. I wasn't there, after all; but having known those who were, and having had relatives who came from Russia during the Revolution, I feel some non-verbal connection. The door/wall in the lower right corner is powerful...This is also a reminder to many other countries—especially mine, the States—that these atrocities know no boundaries, that we're all susceptible, and at all times; and that believing one's nation isn't—"exceptionalism" (hear our elections)—is how nations do such things and never notice till it's too late, at least for many who've already been effected...many thanks for posting this.

God bless you my friend

A sad image, but well captured....just reinforces my feelings about man's inhumanity to man sigh

Very poignant image, Nikolay. I was surprised at the sudden and immediate emotions this image invoked. My uncle, if he even survived the battle, was forced by long march from Stalingrad to some unknown gulag. He was never heard from again. The top image touched me deeply.

You were so right and so concerned to post such a deeply hard pict ...You've done it with full respect and your artistic way of showing us your feelings...It's unapropriate to take this in fav' but it deserves it so much my friend ....A strong dedicate to all that suffered of any totalitarism ...

Powerful work ... thank you for sharing this.

The big problem is that not only were the Russians suffering but also all the people around Russia! And they are still suffering today! :(

A strong and touching image! Really gorgeous Nikolay! PS: I cannot write all what I think because I have a so poor english!

I love when you share these historical things from your side of the world Nikolay. So often we get a very 'colorful' version of something that really doesn't tell the story, this does. Thank you for sharing it!

Movingly beautiful work, Nikolay. Thank you for making me think. Gentle hugs. Diane. xx

!!!

The world is a mad place.

I will never understand why people can be so mean to other people...

Oooh, this is poignant, and a bit telling with the Soviet Realist procession sculpted across the top. The black and white nature of this makes the memorial and its declaration all the more stunning. I can't say that I've experienced any of this first, or second hand, but it's a chilling echo of things friends of mine from Irkutsk told me about. In many ways, this is an incredibly touching photograph.

as i'm german, i can say we had a hard history too, but this also had been totally cruel, no doubt. it's a shame. that times had been an misanthropic age of disaster.

Not just Russia .. not just Russian families .. but far too many Europe, and even here. Man's murderous impulses reach far and wide. A stunning montage Nikolay, reaching across the world.