The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Jan 2014 back issue
by Jeffrey Ball
Ludmila and Anatolik plant pumpkin seeds on land they rent every year in Radyanska Sloboda in central Ukraine. In
addition to farming, both work at the local school, one as a cook and the other a carpenter. Their combined monthly
income of about $300 is not enough to support both them and their two kids who are now in their mid twenties.
Working the land supplies their family with food and feed for the animals that they raise.
A watchful hen keeps an eye on her chicks in a hand-built barn in Radyanska Sloboda, a tiny village in north eastern
Ukraine. As in other places, chickens are commonly kept in rural areas for eggs as well as for slaughtering. Those who
choose to take their eggs to the market will fetch 13-15 UAH ($1.90) per ten eggs. Whole chickens, often small and
thin, are sold for about 90 UAH ($11), an expensive option for most people. If one prefers not to pay for a damashnay
or "homemade" chicken, there are tiny corner stores that sell commercial poultry, often single chicken parts uncovered
and tossed in a box in the freezer, enveloped in a thin layer of ice.
A procession celebrating the Eastern Orthodox holiday of the transfiguration on August 19th. It is one of three holidays
in August that involve the celebration of the harvest and the coming of fall. Vilkovo, southeastern Ukraine.
A soviet era bicycle sits in the courtyard of Anatolik and Ludmila's house in early spring. Next to it on the windowsill
sits a wooden tray of sprouting tomato seeds. Radyanska Sloboda, central Ukraine.
Victor tends to his beehives at the beginning to the honey-making season. He checks to make sure that each hive is
healthy, moves the slats around in the hive to evenly distribute the wax structures the bees are building, and to get an
idea of how they did over the winter. His family will supplement their income by selling honey that they produce.
Vilkovo, southeastern Ukraine.
Anatolik and Ludmila plough the land behind their house in preparation for planting. Anatolik has a degree as a radio
engineer but has worked at the school as a repairman for lack of better employment. He designed and built the tractor
with parts from former military vehicles and welded the frame himself. Radyanska Sloboda, central Ukraine.
Clergy members place candles near baskets of "paska", a holiday cake, and food to be blessed in the earliest hours of
Easter day as celebrated in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Radyanska Sloboda, central Ukraine.
The father of an Eastern Orthodox Church in Vilkovo, Ukraine, blesses members of the church communion along with
baskets of Easter bread, called "paska" they have brought to the Eastern Sunday Service. Eastern Orthodox
Christianity is the main religion in Ukraine with different sects that take leadership from a main church in Ukraine or in
Moscow.
A butcher at the Vilkovo meat market carries a leg of pork from the scale where it was weighed to the table where it
will be divided and sold to customers. Saturday is the busiest day at most markets in Ukraine. Early Saturday
mornings offer the best chance of finding high-quality goods.
Neighbours and family friends gather for a picnic and take advantage of the warmth of early spring. Radyanska
Sloboda, central Ukraine.
"Babushkas" travel by boat near the south eastern tip of Ukraine that makes up the Danube Delta. The boat, called a
"Lotka", is commonly used in the region where many people live on islands of the delta isolated by water. Vilkovo,
southeastern Ukraine.
Ludmilla milks her cow on her small farm in Radyanska Sloboda. Brought into the house by the bucketful, the milk is
strained into a jar and then left on the kitchen table for cooking or drinking.
Members of an Eastern Orthodox Christian church communion celebrate on August 19, 2011 during the annual
transfiguration holiday. Vilkovo, southern Ukraine.
Two brothers fish in a small river behind their house, using bate made from beetle cocoons collected in the branches
of nearby trees. Radyanska Sloboda, central Ukraine.
Girls from the 11th form prepare for the graduation ceremony held at the local school. Many rural areas of Ukraine
have small schools where students attend from age 6-7 all the way until graduation at age 16-17. Many of these
graduating classes are around 20 students. These classes have been shrinking along with Ukraine's population,
which is declining at a level of 4.40 percent annually. Radyanska Sloboda, central Ukraine.
Luxury cars and expensive imported furniture fill Ukraine's large cities, televisions across the country glow with
western styled reality shows and anything can be found for the right price. But Ukraine is far from being as developed
as these western accessories would make it seem.
Ukraine's struggles span centuries but currently include a governing system riddled with corruption, an economy still
not recovered from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and a widely impoverished population especially in
rural areas.
This photographic essay describes the daily life of Ukrainians in rural farm based communities. This essay doesn’t
follow a distinctive storyline but instead moves from one part of the community to the next through the connections
that bind them. It portrays aspects of the communities’ livelihood, youth, culture, times of tragedy, economy and the
passing of seasons. The photographs are moments of daily life in a close knit community of a people who share a
common struggle.
