Patriotism — The Military-Patriotic Movement in Russia (2016 — 2021)

In recent years, Russia has witnessed a dramatic increase in military sentiment, particularly following the events of 2014, which included the annexation of Crimea and subsequent military actions in southwestern Ukraine. This phenomenon gained further momentum after Russia launched a large-scale military operation in Syria in September 2015. Since then, military-patriotic sentiments have been on the rise among the general population of Russia, with the image of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) against Nazi Germany, which Russia won, being actively exploited.
During this period, military-patriotic events from the USSR era have been restored, and the All-Russian Military Patriotic Movement 'Yunarmiya' ('The Youth Army') was established by decree of the President of the Russian Federation on October 29, 2015. By May 2018, the movement had over 230,000 participants.
The Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War is now celebrated on an astounding scale, with millions of people across Russia taking part in various events and celebrations. However, while in the USSR these events were held under the slogan 'We Don’t Need War', in contemporary Russia, the slogan 'We Can Repeat' has become widespread, appearing on cars and T-shirts of citizens with patriotic sentiments.

As a result, there is a pervasive sense that the entire country is being prepared for a major war in the future, with the idea of Russia’s military superiority being instilled in the minds of its people. Considering Russia’s foreign policy, this creates a particular background that cannot be easily ignored, as it permeates people’s everyday lives and alters everything.

Massive reconstructions of WWII events and mass patriotic events have become signs of the times in contemporary Russia. For several years, from 2016 to 2021, I have observed the increase in patriotic sentiments in Russia. The photographs made during this period are presented in this project.