Victory
May 9, Victory Day of the 1941–1945 war, is a national holiday in Russia. The Soviet Union is estimated to have lost 25 million people in the fight against the Third Reich during the Second World War: 14 million Russians and 7 million Ukrainians.
May 9, 2015, Volgograd/Saratov. The celebrations are in full swing as the country marks the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. But Russia annexed Crimea the year before, and historical pride now blends with a war like nationalism orchestrated by the authorities.
In the parks, while the elderly chant, “Never again war!”, Soviet tanks and airplanes become playgrounds for children.
I stand in the eye of the storm, between history and propaganda, between yesterday and tomorrow. I no longer know whether life or death is being celebrated. I photograph children playing on tanks.
What do we pass on to our children? What is victory?
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