Are regional or indigenous languages still spoken in homes?

Anne from Alaska asked:

Are regional or indigenous languages still spoken in homes?

For sure they are. Russia holds together many regions, some of them have own languages which are used in everyday life. But most paperwork, interaction and cultural life are done in Russian as official language.

I'd like to share here one story about Mongolia. It's not quite Russia but it's close. Russian has been made compulsory subject in schools in 2007 (and it was compulsory till 1990). You can speak Russian in Mongolia and be understood. But it's totally different country.

One of my favorite Russian photographers, Sergey Maximishin, did a piece for "Russian Reporter" magazine about Ulan Bator city.

He wrote a story about Baska, ballerina from Ulan Bator.

She lives in a jurt outside the city with all of her relatives. She wishes to become a ballet dancer for real. There is no WC with running water in a jurt; there are small kids in her family she's helping.








More pictures could be found in Russian Reporter article here.

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You can ask your question, too.

Roman Shalenkin takes pictures of Russian miners

He says: I shoot miners for 3 years now and I see them as men of steel. Every time I go down there I really hope to return back to the earth's surface. I feel like I am being born again every time I come back. This is hard work guys, thank you for doing it!

His website: http://shalenkin.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/romanshalenkin/

Moscow then and now, the Guardian

Another series of pictures from the same viewpoints:

25 interactive pictures from Maria Ionova-Gribina: see source.

"Moscow is not equal to Russia"

These are exact words I say so many times a year.

Being born and raised in Moscow, I thought this is the center of the world. At least the center of Russia. Thus, Moscow should be the essence of everything Russia has. Small copy.

But it's wrong. I've learnt it by traveling, by living in St. Pete for 8 years now (which is not Russia, either). You cannot judge my country by its capital at all.

So I suggest you take a look at three photo projects (thanks to tut design for the links). Pictures were taken in small towns. This is more like Russia.


1. After Penza-19 by Ksenia Yurkova

2. Russian Interior by Anastasia Tsayder

3. Village life by Olga Ivanova

These projects show vulnerable, real, unretouched Russia. Up to goosebumps. Welcome.

@pinkhassov

Gueorgui Pinkhassov, famous Russian photographer, joined Instagram about a year ago to share his low-fi moments. His pictures and videos gather a lot of attention: with less that 1k photos he has 17k followers and many comments from those who are in awe of his work.

https://instagram.com/pinkhassov/

He worked for Magnum in 1980s. He helped creating Stalker movie by famous film director Andrei Tarkovsky. And now, he hits instagram. Nice coverage!