These photos are part of an ongoing series that I call a Visual Dictionary of Russia. I think of the series as a form of a contemporary guidebook or set of travel postcards.

I have no ultimate goal other than to capture and show Russian reality today, and to “fix” misconceptions that outsiders may have. I am trying to create an honest, critical portrait of society (the state) and provide my humble analysis through these photographs.

— AnaStasia Rudenko

Editor’s note: Rudenko is still a young student, studying photography and multimedia in the Vologoda region of Russia. I think she has an especially perceptive eye for composition and subject matter, and I appreciate her short, sharp captions. We met at Portfolioreview Russia.