Photographer Shows The Unseen Side Of Post-Soviet Eastern Europe, And The Images Are Haunting

No matter what country you go to, beneath all the colors and shimmering lights one can always find the gritty rawness of the everyday. That is what most street photographers pride themselves on doing - seeking out and documenting the moodiness most people tend to turn the blind eye to. The underground that Petr Barabakaa, photographer and a skater from Russia, captures in his images is rather brutal and aggressive.  This fearlessness seems to be the reflection of Barabakaa's attitude towards photography as he likens it to skating. “When you skate you are out on the streets. You speak a mutual language with the city. In some ways, it erases the fear of interacting with life. Skaters are impudent and self-confident. A lot of the time, you need these qualities for street photography as well." The pictures below are rather dark, boldly and shamelessly staring back at the viewers, almost threatening them, and that, apparently, is exactly what Barabakaa is looking for. He claims that in the 90's the situation on the streets was worse, but it was "perfect" for brazen photography like that. This statement makes one believe that the point of these series is not to inform the public about the injustices, it's just the way of showing how far one can go in order to be provocative. Scroll down below to see the pictures and check out another example of street photography right here. (h/t huck)

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