What Happened is a photo project born from the emotional tension and the impossibility of speaking openly about the «special military operation.» It reflects on the rapid loss of civil freedoms, the societal turn toward so-called «traditional values, ” and the illusion of a peaceful, normal life in Moscow.
Since spring 2022, Russian society has become fractured — opinions, communities, and even urban spaces have split into parallel realities. Everything seems to exist on one surface, yet in different worlds.
The project explores people and spaces choosing to live «here and now, ” distancing themselves from politics and conflict. In Moscow, silence often replaces speech: fear of confrontation and the need for self-preservation lead to quiet self-censorship. Beneath this calm surface, What Happened reveals a subtle, unspoken tension — between people, and between the city and itself.
2022, Moscow, Russia
