ongoing

Project-observation or project-reflection on the legacy of the Soviet era, which continues to surround us. Although the project is being filmed within the borders of modern Russia, the post-Soviet space covers much more countries, and in each of them society continues to process this historical experience.

The first image in the series is a satellite that expresses all the achievements that the Soviet era is proud of. Over the past ten years, Russian propaganda has increasingly focused on past victories, trying to distract public attention from the collapse of science, education and many social institutions. The idealized image of a rocket with two golden "guardians" on the sides is a facade behind which ruin, social problems, anger and poverty are hidden.

The series could not do without the figure of Lenin – the main "saint", the father of the nation for every Soviet person. Although thirty years have passed since the fall of the Soviet system, monuments to Lenin still look at us at every step. New generations no longer attach importance to them, monuments are becoming an object of the exterior, like a bench or a fountain. The more comical are these rare examples of monuments covered with gold (and even then, not real). Is there much that connects us with the era of Marxism-Leninism?

The name of the series appeared at the sight of one of the provincial circuses. Due to the pandemic, the circus was empty and stood closed, this sad sight evoked the old saying: "The circus is gone, but the clowns stayed." This figure of speech expresses the absurdity of a situation when something has ended, but manifestations still occur. This is how the legacy of the Soviet era feels – the socialist experiment with human lives seems to have ended, but how much more time will it take to recover from it?