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RURAL LIFE IN CENTRAL ASIA
A Photo Essay by Vladimir Syomin: 1/21/02
The daily lives of most people in Central Asia remains linked
to the land. The agricultural cycle determines when most work,
and when they can relax. Photographer Vladimir Syomin has
documented rural life in Central Asia. A selection of Syomin's
classic images comprises this EurasiaNet photo essay.
Syomin, a native of Russia who now lives in Brooklyn, NY,
traveled extensively in the former Soviet Union. His photos
concern mainly rural life, depicting conditions and traditions
that are quickly disappearing. Many villages in remote areas
are rapidly losing population, as young people, pushed by
both boredom and economic necessity, move to towns and cities.
Syomin's renown was limited to Russia until 1995, when Western
photo editors discovered his work at a Moscow exhibition.
Soon thereafter, his work was featured in the New York Times
Magazine. He also received a prestigious W. Eugene Smith Memorial
Fund grant to continue documenting the decline of rural life.
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Posted December 21, 2002 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
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The Central Eurasia Project aims, through its website,
meetings, papers, and grants, to foster a more informed
debate about the social, politcal and economic developments
of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is a program of the
Open Society Institute-New York. The Open Society Institute-New
York is a private operating and grantmaking foundation
that promotes the development of open societies around
the world by supporting educational, social, and legal
reform, and by encouraging alternative approaches to complex
and controversial issues.
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily
represent the position of the Open Society Institute
and are the sole responsibility of the author or authors.
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