Katorga Collection
Amidst the harsh realities of Katorga, the Russian penal system between 1880 and 1886, these haunting portraits and scenes unfold
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Amidst the harsh realities of Katorga, the Russian penal system between 1880 and 1886, these haunting portraits and scenes unfold. A convict, dressed in tattered clothing, faces right in a head-and-shoulders portrait, a hint of defiance in his eyes. Elsewhere, Aleksei Kuznetsov captures the daily struggles of hard labor convicts sorting ore, hauling materials, and praying for salvation. The East Side of the Kutomara Silver Smelting Plant looms in the background, a symbol of the relentless toil that awaited those sentenced to Katorga. Through Kuznetsov's lens, we witness the stark contrast between the human spirit and the inhumane conditions of this penal system.