BEYOND

Life inside Russia during its war against Ukraine

A photobook by Beyond Moscow documenting life in Russia's regions since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Through photographs and the photographers' own accounts, it shows how the war unleashed by Russia has reshaped everyday life across the country.

  • 120 photographs
  • Texts in Russian and English

€25 per copy, plus shipping

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Hardcover copy of the BEYOND photobook, tilted, showing its cover photograph of a rural footbridge with the title 'BEYOND'
120
photos

About the book

This is a book about war — and about life in the country that unleashed it.

The printed BEYOND photobook standing on a wooden table indoors, its cover photograph of a rural footbridge visible

Some photographs show the war directly: mobilisation, anti-war protests, police raids, propaganda posters and growing military cemeteries. Others capture ordinary scenes that might have been photographed in peacetime. Yet every image belongs to a world changed by 24 February 2022.

BEYOND brings these scenes together to examine what has been happening within Russian society. Through the work of photographers reporting from across Russia's regions, it preserves a record of this time for readers today and in the years to come.

Inside the book

Explore selected photographs from the book.

  • A large portrait of Tsar Nicholas II mounted on a dilapidated rural barn, with chickens and a goat nearby
  • A military recruitment poster on a city wall advertising payments for signing a contract, with a blurred passer-by in the foreground
  • An election workers' registration hall in a school gymnasium, decorated with Russian flags for a presidential election
  • Riot police detaining a protester at night, one officer's face deliberately blurred
  • A man holds a handwritten sign reading 'No to war with Ukraine' in blue and yellow on a city square
  • Riot police standing beside an illuminated theatre poster for Swan Lake at night
  • A wooden suspension footbridge across a river in a Russian village, the same location shown on the book's cover
  • Election officials sitting at tables in a school sports hall decorated with a red, white and blue ribbon for Russia's presidential election
  • Orthodox pilgrims carrying icons and bags embroidered with the words 'save' and 'protect' outside a monastery
  • An old television in a rustic interior showing state broadcast footage of soldiers on a tank in a forest
  • Volunteers, one wearing a Soviet-era CCCP T-shirt, cleaning and restoring icons inside an Orthodox church
  • A man holds a framed photograph of a man behind bars alongside red carnations at a memorial gathering
  • Riot police walking in formation past a crowd holding flowers at a winter memorial vigil
  • A tram driver seen through a window, reflected alongside passengers riding inside the same tram
  • A woman in a red beret sits on a bench beneath a wall inscribed with the words 'Everything is possible'
  • A huge Russian flag reading 'Russia' billows over a crowd at a public celebration
  • A woman smiles and makes a heart shape with her hands from inside a courtroom holding cage, with police officers and a judge in the foreground
  • Close-up of soldiers' camouflage trousers and women's high heels marching together in a parade
  • A large Z symbol banner reading '#WeAreTogether' hangs on the red wall of a building
  • A woman cries beside a folded flag and a framed photograph of a serviceman in uniform
  • Rows of black pyramid-shaped gravestones stretch across a snow-covered military cemetery bordered by forest
  • A worker on a crane platform removes a PMC Wagner advertising banner from a billboard against a blue sky
  • Marchers carry portraits of fallen soldiers on placards during an Immortal Regiment procession through a city street

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Behind the photographs

The images were taken by photographers working with Beyond Moscow and other independent regional media.

A tram driver seen through a window, reflected alongside passengers riding inside the same tram

Their accompanying accounts describe the circumstances in which each photograph was taken, what remained outside the frame, and their own thoughts and feelings. These voices are part of the book's documentary record.

Many contributors continue to work inside Russia. For their safety, some cannot be named.

Additional context helps international readers understand the events and places shown. QR codes alongside many photographs link to the original reporting.

About Beyond Moscow

Beyond Moscow is an independent media project covering Russia's regions.

We work with journalists, photographers and regional media partners to tell stories rooted in local life and keep independent reporting available despite censorship.

Buy the book

Order a copy for yourself, share it with someone else, or add it to your library's collection.

€25per copy, plus shipping — calculated automatically below

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Support the book

BEYOND is the result of work by photographers, editors, translators and designers committed to documenting this period.

If you would like to support the project, you can make a contribution towards the costs of producing the book. You can choose your own amount, whether or not you purchase a copy.

Thank you for helping us make this work possible.

Support the book

Contact

For institutional orders, multiple copies or questions about delivery, please contact us at info@beyondphotobook.com.

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