SILENCE IS THE SOUND OF FEAR

In March 2014, Vladimir Putin signed an agreement declaring that Crimea was part of the Russian Federation. The annexation of the peninsula was preceded of a controversial referendum and neither the referendum nor the annexation have yet have now been recognized by the international community. Events shape again Ukrainian politics and the country's relations with Russia. Over the past six years, the Donbass region has been torn apart by war fueled by Russia, which has so far claimed more than 10,000 lives. Crimea's economy has also been hit hard since the annexation. tourism, its main source of income, has virtually disappeared and the fact that The peninsula being cut off from the Ukrainian mainland often leads to shortages supply. The sanctions imposed on Russia and the repression of Freedom of speech and freedom of the press have radically changed the way of life of the people. In particular, the Crimean Tartars, a minority Muslim women who called for a boycott of the 2014 referendum are facing intimidation and reprisals by the Russian authorities. The Photographer Moritz Küstner spent five years, from 2015 to 2019, documenting the changes affecting Crimea and the life of the Crimean Tartars. Küstner created a dense narrative mixing texts and photos that tell stories about life individual, displacement, hope, resistance and new beginnings.