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True Russia

ALEXANDER PETROSYAN

BOKFÖRLAGET MAX STRÖM

Alexander Petrosyan

Russia cannot be understood with the mind alone, according to one oft-repeated saying. It is the country Sir Winston Churchill called “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. However, if images can aid us in understanding, there is a great deal to take in from the works of photographer Alexander Petrosyan. In much the same way as his photographic hero Henri Cartier-Bresson shaped our view of Paris, Petrosyan conveys an image of Russia and St Petersburg – his hometown – that is far removed from glossy tourist brochures.

Anyone who has visited that Russian metropolis will recognise the Winter Palace, the Bronze Horseman, St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Peter and Paul Fortress and the main avenue of Nevsky Prospect in Petrosyan’s photographs. But these famous locations serve mainly as backdrops for his real subject, the city’s residents. As he explains, “The city is a natural habitat for most modern people; the city and the people constantly act on each other – that is the inalienable theme of my photos.”

Alexander Petrosyan’s street photography is infused with humour and empathy. His images are populated by youth gangs dressed up for a night out, homeless alcoholics, winter outdoor swimmers, newlyweds, military parades and religious processions – as well as the city’s dogs, cats and birds. The whole spectrum is present: beauty and filth, melancholia and joy, strength and weakness, new wealth and entrenched poverty.

Petrosyan does not think that images can change the world, but they can help us to understand it a bit better. “By nature, I’m an observer and I’m interested in all manifestations of life. I want to show St Petersburg and its inhabitants in all their colours: kind and naive, evil and scary, buffoons and holy fools,” he says.

Alexander Petrosyan is one of Russia’s best-known photographers, garnering awards and acclaim for his photos of the streets he has walked down for over 40 years. He never tires of the city’s constant transformation and likes to quote the Polish poet Stanisław Jerzy Lec on St Petersburg: “In reality, everything is somewhat different than in reality.”

Petrosyan explains: “I travel a lot, but I usually don’t share pictures from my journeys. The eye of a tourist can only offer a fleeting glimpse from the outside. This is my world.” His world corresponds to St Petersburg’s historic centre, near the Neva River’s outlet into the Gulf of Finland. “I don’t feel the city when I’m in the suburbs. They’re so uniform and monotonous, you could be in Moscow or Novosibirsk.”

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