OR EDU

On November 29,2010 I am leaving for Rostov region and going to visit several miners settlements, shafts, one-two miners's families.
In early nineties the new Russian energy strategy worked out by A.Chubais considered mining as the unprofitable and uneconomic industry. Many shafts were closed and just destroyed. A lot of miners became jobless. Unemployment was the main factor that caused poverty, drug addiction, criminality of the region. In some settlements miners are living in barracks with only electricity and cold water with no gas and sewerage. In Zverevo settlement retiered miners have been protested for several years against the local authorities' decision to deny them the right for social benifits. My purpose is to make social photo-project about miners of East Donbass. It is not the regional problem. It is the problem of the country.

Volonteers from the group "Old Age for Joy" are visiting geriatric homes in the Russian regions. They bring necessary things to old people, give them concerts, find pen-pals for them among the students. The old men are waiting for their viists with impatience. This pictures were made during the visit to geriatric home in Radukino, Kaluga region. In majority these old people have families in Moscow and Moscow region. But their relatives keeps them in this place.

The dance seminar Music in the Body. Let the music comes into your body, feel as it begins to live inside you. And then at the right moment starts to let it out into the movement

There are portraits of different people, men and women, working in the mines of East Donbas. I could not even imagine that these grown-up people would be so afraid of photographing and that it would be a real problem to make shots. They turned their backs, run away like kids. Some of them were shy, but most of them were afraid that their photos would be printed in the local newspaper and it could be a reason for them to loose their job.
There are also 3 portraits of an old woman, 84 years old. Her husband was a miner and died 9 years ago. She lives near the coal mine and need coal to warm her house. Her pension is 4 000 rubles a month and she is to by 1 ton of coal at the price of 7 000 rubles. For winter she needs 3 tons….

Tokens from East Donbas miner's settlements and mines

Dear Joerg, I want to show cityscapes and some shots of Almaznaya mine where miners work.
Is it acceptable to put in one set of photos color and b/w images?

In the Soviet Union when Lenin monuments were in every small and big city, profession of a miner was respected and highly paid. Then, in the end of 1980s the crisis stroke the Soviet mining industry and it became clear, that the state of this industry could not be preserved as it was. Most of mines were incorporated, others were closed. Mining industry faced a new problem - unemployment, which had lead to poverty, migration, drug addiction and criminality of the region. In some villages miners are living in barracks with only electricity and cold water without gas and sewerage. There is no sign that situation is going to be changed. The government prefers to develop gas programs but not coal. Mines are closing. Functioning mines practically not fulfill mine working plans due to outdated and often not working equipment and scanty investments in the industry.
I visited Gukovo, a typical miners’ town in Rostov region. There are several mines near it. So people live in the town and go to their work places by special miner’s buses. Miner’s working day lasts for 6 hours but it takes about two or even more extra hours to get to the place of mining and back. I had and opportunity to visit two mines, to get under the ground with a shift of miners, to see how people work in different sectors of the mine. About 1000 people work in a mine. Miners are about 200 people, others - men and women - are securing functioning and safety of the mine and miners under the ground. Their monthly salary is 3400-3700 rubles.
Before going down to the place of mining the shift of miners gets an order, listen to special instructions and then gets lamps, equipment and a 1,5 liter bottle of tea or water. Then miners go to the building where they lift down under the ground.
The depth of the shaft is about 200 m. Down there miners get into the small carriages of the train, which takes them deeper to the mining place for about 700 to 1000 m where the temperature rises to 30-50C. I talk to several miners, they said, that the work there is very hard. In the hot air with the lack of oxygen, the coal dust is so heavy that one can hardly sees the fingers of his arm. Miners' professional disease is lung silicosis and their life interval – 60-65 years. Often miners have to move and work in the small corridors with little space. And monthly salary for this hellish labor in the “Russian coal” mines is 10-12 000 rubles. If miners overfilled the output they received about 20-25 000 rubles. But due to the economic crisis and the lack of modern equipment the output is very low. At 12 000 rubles they had to leave with their families, to grow up kids, to by food and medicine, to warm their houses.
After retirement miners and people who worked in the mine get 4000 rubles a month. One of the problem for those who live in their own houses, especially for old people, is to warm them in the cold Russian winters. In 2010/2011 a tone of coal was at the price of 7 000 rubles. To warm a small house in cold season one needs 3 tones. It is a very simple arithmetic.
One could hardly imagine how people can survive. But they do.

There are portraits of different people, men and women, working in the mines of East Donbas. I could not even imagine that these grown-up people would be so afraid of photographing and that it would be a real problem to make shots. They turned their backs, run away like kids. Some of them were shy, but most of them were afraid that their photos would be printed in the local newspaper and it could be a reason for them to loose their job.
There are also 3 portraits of an old woman, 84 years old. Her husband was a miner and died 9 years ago. She lives near the coal mine and need coal to warm her house. Her pension is 4 000 rubles a month and she is to by 1 ton of coal at the price of 7 000 rubles. For winter she needs 3 tons….

Tokens from East Donbas miner's settlements and mines

Dear Joerg, I want to show cityscapes and some shots of Almaznaya mine where miners work.
Is it acceptable to put in one set of photos color and b/w images?

In the Soviet Union when Lenin monuments were in every small and big city, profession of a miner was respected and highly paid. Then, in the end of 1980s the crisis stroke the Soviet mining industry and it became clear, that the state of this industry could not be preserved as it was. Most of mines were incorporated, others were closed. Mining industry faced a new problem - unemployment, which had lead to poverty, migration, drug addiction and criminality of the region. In some villages miners are living in barracks with only electricity and cold water without gas and sewerage. There is no sign that situation is going to be changed. The government prefers to develop gas programs but not coal. Mines are closing. Functioning mines practically not fulfill mine working plans due to outdated and often not working equipment and scanty investments in the industry.
I visited Gukovo, a typical miners’ town in Rostov region. There are several mines near it. So people live in the town and go to their work places by special miner’s buses. Miner’s working day lasts for 6 hours but it takes about two or even more extra hours to get to the place of mining and back. I had and opportunity to visit two mines, to get under the ground with a shift of miners, to see how people work in different sectors of the mine. About 1000 people work in a mine. Miners are about 200 people, others - men and women - are securing functioning and safety of the mine and miners under the ground. Their monthly salary is 3400-3700 rubles.
Before going down to the place of mining the shift of miners gets an order, listen to special instructions and then gets lamps, equipment and a 1,5 liter bottle of tea or water. Then miners go to the building where they lift down under the ground.
The depth of the shaft is about 200 m. Down there miners get into the small carriages of the train, which takes them deeper to the mining place for about 700 to 1000 m where the temperature rises to 30-50C. I talk to several miners, they said, that the work there is very hard. In the hot air with the lack of oxygen, the coal dust is so heavy that one can hardly sees the fingers of his arm. Miners' professional disease is lung silicosis and their life interval – 60-65 years. Often miners have to move and work in the small corridors with little space. And monthly salary for this hellish labor in the “Russian coal” mines is 10-12 000 rubles. If miners overfilled the output they received about 20-25 000 rubles. But due to the economic crisis and the lack of modern equipment the output is very low. At 12 000 rubles they had to leave with their families, to grow up kids, to by food and medicine, to warm their houses.
After retirement miners and people who worked in the mine get 4000 rubles a month. One of the problem for those who live in their own houses, especially for old people, is to warm them in the cold Russian winters. In 2010/2011 a tone of coal was at the price of 7 000 rubles. To warm a small house in cold season one needs 3 tones. It is a very simple arithmetic.
One could hardly imagine how people can survive. But they do.