Map of Memories (2020 – ongoing)
While global attention focuses on the war in Ukraine, Russian aggression and changes in US politics, a country caught in an authoritarian deadlock often goes unnoticed. Belarus remains under constant pressure from Moscow on one side and from nearly three decades of Lukashenko’s rule on the other.
The aftermath of the fraudulent 2020 elections and the crushed democratic movement is still unfolding: repression continues, exile communities grow, and former political prisoners face ongoing uncertainty. My project documents this unresolved aftermath, tracing displacement, resistance, and a nation suspended between past and future. It shows how life after state control does not end when people cross a border, but continues to shape bodies, relationships, and identity in exile. I am part of this story. This is my life and experience too. My photography is not only documentation; it is an attempt to understand what it means to be Belarusian when the homeland becomes more of a memory than a place.
The Belarusian experience shows and warns that repression, emigration, and the disappearance of civil society are not just a national tragedy but part of the global struggle for democracy in a world where authoritarianism is rising again.
Find out more:
Website: pkritchko.com
Instagram: @pkritchko