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Red Thistle

94 images Created 20 Oct 2017

Russia to the edges of the Empire, where Europe becomes Asia, and the birch trees give way to redwoods. The mountain range stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea traces the restless, misunderstood mosaic of the Northern Caucasus, which features in the media predominantly when the endless sporadic wars turn into massacres or genocides. In this inaccessible and inhospitable land, enclosed between two seas, Monteleone has found his theme. A scrupulous narrator, he follows the line drawn by “concerned photography”, and by linking images he constructs a narrative of places and people. In a geographic area as large and rugged as this, the morphology disappears into the fragments of a photograph formed in the perfect square of the medium format: it is forced to share the vision of the author, with no possibility of escape. The desire to tell a story is clear, far from being left to chance, there is a perfect coherence and continuity. And it’s not a coincidence that the work is shot mainly on film: the moment that the shutter is released is distinct from the moment of selection, dilating the need for narrative and releasing it from a sense of urgency to allow it to follow the pace of the journey. Meticulous, attentive to detail and interiors, Monteleone opens his vision to the landscape allowing natural light to define the nuances of color and the changing seasons. An invisible presence inside the houses, he describes a private world and alternates it with the vision of a scarred and desolate landscape, in a balanced dialogue between the individual and his environment. The photographer knows that it is not enough just to travel for miles, it is necessary to have a centre from which to explore; he goes to Grozny and, over a three year period, in addition to Chechnya, he travels to South and North Ossetia, Abkhazia, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachay-Cherkessia. He lives in the places he talks about, interested in the people, he learns to understand their words and their behavior. In the best of cases, when an artist photographs he is searching for himself. Witnessing events, he digs into his own feelings. That is why the work is not just a fresco evoking the political and social nature of conflicts and their dramatic consequences. He goes further, achieving a powerful lyricism through his ability to evoke, and to show more closely, a painful world, never just simply chronicling it or describing the geography. And so, the reverence of the author can be seen in the portraits of women – resigned protagonists – in the images of tombstones and shrines as well as in the buildings destroyed by the explosions of yesterday or today, and the memory of the war finds its place between private tragedy and collective drama.
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  • Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, 01/2011. Neutrino, The soviet block in the middle of the mountains. GENERAL CAPTION: In the village of Neutrino in the Elbrus region, a small  community of people, mainly relatives, lives in a couple of soviet building in the area where at the time of the Soviet Union there was a laboratory for the study of the atomic mass. Today, many young people find employment in  the tourism industry developing in the nearby mountains.  Many of them have embraced Islam as a form of protest to corrupt and repressive authority. Here as in many other part of the republic and the Caucasus being “too” religious is a reason of attention from the security authorities and many cases of murder, disappearing, and human right violation are perpetuated in the village and in the area from local forces to young muslim.
    MOD11002-038.jpg
  • Abkhazia - 10/2008. Days of celebration of victory against the Georgians in 1993 and recognition of independence by Russia. A militiaman patrolling the Kodori Valley. The valley is only recently under the control of Abkhazia and still clashes occur. Russian peacekeepers should secure the area.
    MOD11020-001.jpg
  • South Ossetia - 08/2008 - Buildings destroyed by Georgian bombing in the center of Tskhinvali. On the night of 8th August 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive to regain his control on the disputed region. A few hours later, Russia counterattacked and a flash conflict started around the capital region.
    MOD11020-002.jpg
  • South Ossetia, 08/2008 - a Russian tank cross the Rosky, the only access from Russia to South Ossetia. On the night of 8th August 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive to regain his control on the disputed region. A few hours later, Russia counterattacked and a flash conflict started around the capital region.
    MOD11020-003.jpg
  • Republic of Chechnya, 01/2010 - Shalaji, an old photo of Sheikh Mansour and Sheikh Artzanov, which were the major religious leaders of Chechnya.
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  • Republic of Ingushetia, 2010. Inside a car in the Prigorodny district. During the ‘summer and fall of 1992 ethnic conflict started between the Ingush and the Ossetians. Ingush fighters attacked the district on the night of October 30th and took control of the periphery of the North Ossetian capital Vladikavkaz. 31st October 1992 the Russian forces sent peace keeper in the area, but they clearly parried for the Ossetian side. On November the 2nd president Boris Yeltsin declared the district part of North Ossetia. The hostility of this conflict resulted in 590 dead, 1000 injured, 1200 hostages, 65000 Ingush refugees and 9000 Ossetians. The area is still in dispute and the territory is controlled by the military forces of the Russian Federation.
    MOD11020-005.jpg
  • Republic of Chechnya, 01/2010 - The tomb of Kunta-haji's mother, Kheda. The tomb became a major cause of the conflict between Wahhabi and Qadiriyyah adherents in the government of Aslan Maskhadov. The Wahhabis wanted to destroy the tomb, (as they consider veneration of Kheda as paganism) yet the Qadriyyahs led by Akhmad Kadyrov, (then the Chief Mufti of Chechnya) were able to save the tomb.
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  • Republic of Ingushetia, 2010. Nazran, the bride at a wedding. Traditional wedding requires that the bride is taken to the home of her husband’s family in a room where the guests, mostly men visit the couple for 3 days to greet the new marriage. The bride is standing in a corner, cannot speak to anyone if not trough intercession of another woman and after paying a token sum by the person who asks a question. The money is kept in a small silk bag and contribute to the dowry for the wedding.
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  • Republic of Dagestan, 2010. On the way to Gubden. The village was the arena of vast counterterrorism operations. The leader mujahidden Magomedali Vagabov were the main target of the operation. Vagabov, a native of the village, is one of the main commanders of the Islamic resistance in the area. Similar operations were conducted in several villages in Dagestan and harshly criticized for the abuse and violence of the Russian forces
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  • Abkhazia - 10/2008. Days of celebration of victory against the Georgians in 1993 and recognition of independence by Russia. During a performance of traditional dance.
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  • Republic of Dagestan in 2009. Monument to the memory of Imam Shamil, hero of the Islamic Caucasus. Imam Shamil was born in 1797 in the village of Gimry and became the first head of the resistance of the Caucasus and the third Imam of the “Imam of the Caucasus”. Between June and August 1839 Shamil came under attack along with his followers in the mountains of Akhoulgo, about ten kilometers from his hometown. An epic battle which saw the victory of Russia and the defeat of the Islamic resistance in the Caucasus.
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  • Republic of Ingushetia, 2010 - Nazran, during the celebration of a traditional marriage.
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  • South Ossetia- 08/2008 - Pert of Georgian Tank distoyed.
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  • South Ossetia - 08/2008 - A Georgian woman in the bed of her home in the days following the bombing of Tskhinvali. On the night of 8th August 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive to regain his control on the disputed region. A few hours later, Russia counterattacked and a flash conflict started around the capital region.
    MOD11020-013.jpg
  • South Ossetia- 08/2008 - Ossetian boy fleeing from Tskhinvali.
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  • South Ossetia, 2008. A woman celebrating the recognition of independence by Russia. Claimed by Georgia, and de facto independent, South Ossetia, is recognized Sovereign state by Russia in the August 26th 2008, followed by Nicaragua and Venezuela.
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  • Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, 01/2011. In the house of Mironov's family. Zamira Mironova wife of  Edik Mironov (1974)  Edik have been arrested for complicity in the "Nalchik attack" in October 13th. 2005. GENERAL CAPTION: On 13 October 2005 Nalchik was a raid by a large group of militants<br />
A number of buildings associated with the Russian security forces were targeted. More than 100 people (142 according to official tallies), including at least 14 civilians, were reported to have been killed during the ensuing shooting, which continued into the next day. Many other people were wounded.<br />
The raid was reportedly in response to months of persecution of practising Muslims in the region, including arbitrary detention and torture by law enforcement officials, and wholesale closure of mosques.<br />
There was an uncertainty about the size of the rebel force. Russian sources put the figure at between 80 and 300, while Basayev claimed that 217 fighters had been involved. <br />
Following the raid, law enforcement officials detained dozens of people; many of the detainees were reportedly tortured. At least one person was reported to have "disappeared" following the raid. Upon investigation, some of the detainees have been charged under nine articles such as terrorism, murder, armed rebellion, and infringement on the life of police officers.<br />
On October 12, 2007, began the trial of 59 detained suspects, with some 400 victims and 2,000 witnesses. According to The Moscow Times' source, "Russia has never seen a legal proceeding with so many participants." Printing of all the materials on the case took 40 tons of paper. The trial is the biggest and first mass trial against terrorism in the history of Russia.
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  • Abkhazia - 10/2008. Days of celebration of victory against the Georgians in 1993 and recognition of independence by Russia. A man from the abkhazian diaspora in Turkey inside a bar in Suhkumi.
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  • Republic of Chechnya - 2008. Girls in traditional costumes dance during the inauguration of the new airport in Grozny.
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  • Abkhazia - 10/2008. Days of celebration of victory against Georgia in 1993 and recognition of independence by Russia. An abkhazian a militiaman patrolling the Kodori valley. The valley is only recently under the control of Abkhazia and clashes still occur, while the troops of Russian peacekeepers should check the area.
    MOD11020-019.jpg
  • Abkhazia - 10/2008. Days of celebration of victory against the Georgians in 1993 and recognition of independence by Russia. A militiaman patrolling the Kodori Valley. The valley is only recently under the control of Abkhazia and still clashes occur. Russian peacekeepers should secure the area.
    MOD11020-020.jpg
  • Republic of Dagestan - 01/2010 - On 12 January a bomb exploded at the Km 496 of the pipeline Mozdok-Kazimagomed, the main pipeline Dagestan. According to local sources, the explosion was visible for over 10 km away and the flames were over 50 meters tall.
    MOD11020-021.jpg
  • Republic of Chechnya, 01/2010 - Military patrolling the way form Grozny to Shatoi.
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  • Republic of Chechnya, 01/2010.  On the way to Shatoi, cementery.
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  • Ekazhevo, 09/2010. The Kartoev family. <br />
In March 2 2010, as a result of a special operation in Ekazhevo, Nazran District, four suspected militants were killed and fifteen more detained. As a result of the operation, four Kartoev brothers were assassinated: Tukhan, Nazir, Ahmed and Magomed. Three more brothers - Tarkhan, Tatarkhan and Beslan were detained. Their house was plundered and then blow up. The attackers stole everything.  The Special Operation was started for capturing suspected Kartoev brothers of undermining the "Neva-Express" train in 2009; however, in late September it became known that the investigation moved new charges against them - of blowing up the same train in 2007. According to his story, the bodies of his four sons murdered on March 2, are not given out for funeral. In March 3, in the same village, in the following special operation, liquidation of Said Buryatskiy, one of the leaders of Islam Militant in the Caucasus, was confirmed.
    MOD11020-024.jpg
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