Motherland - Simon Roberts

Photographer Simon Roberts travelled throughout Russia, for a year between July 2004 and August 2005, exploring the idea of the Russian motherland and creating one of the most extensive photographic accounts of this vast country by a Westerner. His images are not clichd representations of a Russia ground down by poverty and despair; rather, he presents a beautiful and awe-inspiring land, with dignified people empowered by growing optimism. Intimate portraits of contemporary Russians show us a diverse people, united by a common sense of national identity, while breathtaking landscapes reveal the complexity of the country.