In the Solitude of Horizons by Ikuru Kuwajima

In The Solitude Of Horizons FotoVisura I met the Sokolov Family in summer 2011 when I was traveling around the Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan with fellow photographers. It was very quite bizarre for the first time - a family living in a deserted Soviet military barrack in the middle of nowhere. There is just steppe and lake, and the... Ikuru Kuwajima http://c0875922.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/42197.medium.jpg http://www.fotovisura.com//user/iktx9/view/test 12/15/11 I met the Sokolov Family in summer 2011 when I was traveling around the Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan with fellow photographers. It was very quite bizarre for the first time - a family living in a deserted Soviet military barrack in the middle of nowhere. There is just steppe and lake, and the house is surrounded by silence and horizons, being away from civilization. The area was part of the Soviet Army's major anti-rocket testing range called the Sary-Shagan Polygon, where some old remains of the Soviet army buildings are scattered around in the vast testing range on the steppe by the Lake Balkhash. The area was strategically important in the Soviet era, and there was good food supply and infrastructure at that time. But, after the Soviet collapse, the majority of residents left the area, in which some of the settlements were completely abandoned. The Sokolov family, who have been living in the Sary-Shagan Polygon since the Soviet era, moved to the abandoned barrack located about 30 km away from the closest city during the turmoil of the post Soviet era. After the first visit to the Sokolov family, I decided to visit them periodically. I was interested to know why they had been living there for so many years and how they were living there. The Sokolov family said they live there because they have no apartment and no work in cities and they like to be on their own. However, they have no electricity and gas at home, though they had ones when they lived in an apartment in the Soviet era. It seems to me, in some way, hat the family are the living legacy of the Soviet Union while they are also the victims of the Soviet collapse. When I visited the Sokolov, I always feel that the time is frozen there. The family live so close to the nature. They are one of a very few families left in the former military settlement. The once-prosperous area is being quickly decomposed into the nature, as if no one has every lived there. I wanted to document the life of the Sokolov family because they seem to symbolize the fall of the Soviet Union and the fate of the forgotten Sary-Shagan Polygon. I plan to continue to document the project before the legacy of the Soviet completely disappeared and turned into oblivion.

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An old car "Moskvichi" parks in front of the abandoned military barrack, where the Sokolov family have been living for more than 10 years, about 30 km away from Priozersk in Kazakhstan in September, 2011. Sokolov Family have been living in the abandoned military barrack without electricity, running water and gas for 15 years in the Sary-Shagan Polygon by Lake Balkhash in eastern Kazakhstan. Victor and his wife Alyona moved to the area from Russia around 1984 and lived normal life, having two children Vasile and Tanya. Many people lived relatively well around the Sary-Shagan Polygon, as the Soviet government made a lot of investment in the Polygon, which was established in the 50's for the development of anti-ballistic missiles. There were a lot of military personnel and good infrastructure for the Soviet era. There wasn't deficit in foods and products unlike many other Soviet cities and towns in the 80's. The Polygon gave hope to the Soviet Union to "win" the cold war. It was, in some way, the front for the Soviet military at that time. However, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Then, more than hundred of thousands of people deserted the area around Sary-Shagan Polygon, leaving abandoned buildings scattered on the vast empty steppe. However, Sokolov Family didn't leave for Russia or other major cities unlike others. They just moved to the abandoned military barrack located about 15 km away from their old Soviet apartment, which is now in ruins. Since then, they have been making a living mostly by fishing in the lake by the barrack. There are only a few families living in the range of 20 sq km from the barrack. They have to travel about 30 km on the bumpy, desolate road to get to the nearby city. The family now has a 5-year-old grandson Ilasu, though his father is not taking care of Ilasu and his mother Tanya. Sokolov Family say they don't move because there would be no job and no apartment for them in the region. The collection of the pictures is about the family who were left behind in the empty grassland, which used to be the land of hope for the Soviet Union.

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Victor Sokolov smokes in his house while his son Vasily sits in their house in August 2011.

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Tanya, left, washes her son Ilasu in Lake Balkhash in July 2011.

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Victor and Alyona Sokolov rest in their sleeping room in July 2011.

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Ilasu plays on the swing by the house in August 2011.

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Reeds grow along the west shore of Lake Balkhash near Sokolov's house in the Sary-Shagan Polygon. The photograph was taken in August, 2011.

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Vasily Solokov controls the boat in July 2011. He has been making a living mainly by fishing.

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Tanya and her friends from Priozersk try to fix the friends' car Moskvichi on their way to the barrack in September, 2011.

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Vasily and Tanya check the motorcycle "Ural" near their house in July 2011. They mainly use the motorcycle for transportation, though their motorcycle gets broken periodically.

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Ilasu leans to his mother Tanya while she plays cards with her friends who came to visit her from Priozersk, the city about 30 km away from Sokolov's barrack, in September 2011.

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Alyona stands in the kitchen in the hut, which the family renovated to live in the winter time, in November 2011.

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The dead sheep lie in one of the unused rooms of the former Soviet military barrack in July 2011.

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Tanya, left, and Galya wash their hair in Lake Balkhash in July 2011.

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Ilasu rests on the balcony of the barrack in August 2011.

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Sokolov Family also raises chickens at home. The photograph was taken in July 2011.

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Tanya put the clothes on Ilasu while Galya smokes on the beach of Lake Balkhash in July 2011.

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Rainbow on the way between the main road and the barrack in September, 2011.

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Vasily drives the motorcycle Ural near the barrack in September 2011.

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The fish was thrown away on the beach of Lake Balkhash after Sokolov family caught fish and selected ones for sales in August 2011.

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Vitaly smokes in the barrack at night in August 2011.

I met the Sokolov Family in summer 2011 when I was traveling around the Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan with fellow photographers. It was very quite bizarre for the first time - a family living in a deserted Soviet military barrack in the middle of nowhere. There is just steppe and lake, and the house is surrounded by silence and horizons, being away from civilization. The area was part of the Soviet Army's major anti-rocket testing range called the Sary-Shagan Polygon, where some old remains of the Soviet army buildings are scattered around in the vast testing range on the steppe by the Lake Balkhash. The area was strategically important in the Soviet era, and there was good food supply and infrastructure at that time. But, after the Soviet collapse, the majority of residents left the area, in which some of the settlements were completely abandoned. The Sokolov family, who have been living in the Sary-Shagan Polygon since the Soviet era, moved to the abandoned barrack located about 30 km away from the closest city during the turmoil of the post Soviet era.
After the first visit to the Sokolov family, I decided to visit them periodically. I was interested to know why they had been living there for so many years and how they were living there. The Sokolov family said they live there because they have no apartment and no work in cities and they like to be on their own. However, they have no electricity and gas at home, though they had ones when they lived in an apartment in the Soviet era. It seems to me, in some way, hat the family are the living legacy of the Soviet Union while they are also the victims of the Soviet collapse. When I visited the Sokolov, I always feel that the time is frozen there. The family live so close to the nature. They are one of a very few families left in the former military settlement. The once-prosperous area is being quickly decomposed into the nature, as if no one has every lived there. I wanted to document the life of the Sokolov family because they seem to symbolize the fall of the Soviet Union and the fate of the forgotten Sary-Shagan Polygon. I plan to continue to document the project before the legacy of the Soviet completely disappeared and turned into oblivion.