Documentary - NOMINEE: Sergey Parshukov

Vorkuta is the fourth largest city beyond the Arctic Circle, the most eastern city in Europe and the first in Russia in terms of population decline. You can get here only by plane or train. There is no road connection. It is located in the permafrost zone, where there is no frost for only 70 days a year. It was founded in the 1930s to extract coal. Almost at the same time, one of the largest Gulag camps was established in Vorkuta. By 1951 there were 73 thousands prisoners, including foreign ones. That is why the city is known as the "capital of the world". It is surrounded by the agglomeration of satellite settlements, which grew up in Soviet times during the coal mines. In recent years, their number has decreased significantly: only 4 out of 13 mines are still operating. Because of this the settlements are resettled and closed. The population of Vorkuta is rapidly shrinking. While in the 1990s there were more than 110 thousand inhabitants, now less than 60 thousand people live there permanently.

About author:
Sergey Parshukov — documentary photographer, photojournalist based in the Komi Republic, Russia. Personal projects include social issues, daily life of provincial towns and villages.