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SPECIAL ISSUE ON SALE NOW
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Thursday, Nov. 23, 2000
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Mothers of Russian Soldiers
A photo essay by Steve Connors
In February 2000, Steve Connors traveled to Russia to document how families dealt with the return of the remains of soldiers killed in the Chechen wars.
This was the second time he had approached the story of the mothers of
Russian soldiers fighting in Chechnya. The first time was in 1996, at the
end of the last Chechen war. "I was first drawn to the story because it
seemed almost medieval to send out your young men to fight and die — for
reasons which still defy anything but the most cynical analysis — and then
fail to observe even the most basic decency of returning their remains to
their families.
Almost all the story was shot "illegally". The military hotel in Rostov on
Don where Connors first met Valentina Khankishiyeva, the mother of a soldier killed in Chechnya, was closed to outsiders. The entrance
lobby was guarded by soldiers and — more importantly — a couple of middle-aged women. The hospital in which the morgue is located is within an army camp.
"I entered the camp grounds by staying in the background as the family
checked in using their passports and then, using a small camera concealed
under my coat, I took pictures when I felt I could get away with it. Inside
the morgue I was challenged by the officer in charge, almost as soon as I
began taking pictures. I pretended I could neither hear nor speak and
pointed toward Alexander — Valentina's nephew — to explain the situation;
that I was a deaf and dumb friend of the family. Fortunately, I wasn't
asked for any means of identification. It was made very clear that no
pictures were to be taken and Alexander came across to me and zipped up my
coat to cover the camera. The message was pretty unequivocal.
"Photography is forbidden in Russian railway stations unless official
permission has been granted but, by eschewing the use of flash despite the
awful lighting conditions, I was able to work without being challenged.
"Finally, when I visited Valentina at home, I had to be sneaked into her
apartment complex which was situated inside an army base — a closed city
since it was built in the 1950's.
Check out timeeurope.com for more Fast Forward Europe stories in the days and weeks to come. Our Fast Forward coverage culminates in a year-end special issue and website to be published on December 14
PHOTO BY STEVE CONNORS
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