Art book published showcasing Sevastopol’s youth prior to annexation

Independent photographer Yaroslav Andriyanov has finished compiling an art book focused on the youth of Sevastopol prior to 2014.

It took about 2.5 years to complete the publication. It will be self-published with an ISBN and will serve as an archival record of the generation formed in the city before Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

According to Andriyanov, 35 active participants in the city’s social life were involved in the project. The final release includes works by the following artists:

• Yaroslav Andriyanov (creator of the project);
• Ivan Sydelnykov;
• Anastasiia Diduk;
• Volodymyr Levytskyi;
• Mykyta Bielikov;
• Stepan Chepil; and
• Yaroslav Storchak.

The book also features several photographs by unknown authors. These images were retrieved from hard drives dating back 10–15 years.

“Over several years, we sorted out about 5,000 photographs. Some were brought out of Crimea, and people were sought out all over the world for interviews and recollections. It was a huge undertaking, which will be immortalized in the book, given an ISBN number, and remain in the archives forever,” said Andriyanov.

Preserving photographic films after the annexation is a story of its own.

“I was in America on a work contract when the annexation occurred. I’m a ship handler and a long-distance sailor. I assisted in organizing my family’s departure remotely, so I had no idea which of my stuff they took. Later, I told my mother about the project and accidentally found out that she had taken all my films with her. I scanned them in 2024, and that was amazing,” said Andriyanov.

Some friends whose families stayed in Crimea passed materials through their parents, providing another wave of archive “exports.” The transfers were arranged during meetings in Turkey and Georgia.

The book is a multi-layered project: in addition to photographs, it contains a map of seven urban objects that young people have adapted to their own needs, texts, interviews, and descriptions of iconic places. The accompanying texts were authored by Andriyanov.

“I did the entire project on my own budget and chose the path of self-publishing. A lot of resources and time were spent on mistakes, corrections, and restoration,” said Andriyanov.

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Images: Provided by representatives of the art book

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn