A Family From a Closed City

Zarechny is one of ten closed cities in Russia. It was founded in 1958 and formed part of a chain of secret military and atomic industrial cities. The city still retains its status as closed, meaning that it functions behind barbed wire, isolated from the outside world, still preserving a soviet feel. The population has now declined to about 63 000 inhabitants, due to a fall in industrial production. There is also a prominent issue of radioactive pollution that has not yet been officially proved. An unusually high amount of twins and tripplets are born every year. Such large families with numerous children become city heroes, and their images are exhibited on billboards and at bus stops. Anikins are a typical middle-class family (mother - teacher, father - construction worker), with four children (two pairs of twins). They survive from day to day living in a small "Chrushev apartment”. This photo project was a result of an assignment for a photo symposium in Zarechny.