Leningrad 1991-Hunger everywhere. Food lines everywhere.

The woman, second from the right has haunted me all these years. If looks could

kill. You know she is a strong person.<div></div>

But that woman looks quite well rounded. The hunger does not show in the picture. All of them in the picture look quite OK as far as lack of food would show off otherwise.

 

If that picture haunted you for years, do not even try to look at real hunger in the pictures...

Frank==This was in December of 1991. The internal food supply system had broken down. People were standing in liine the get bread and cabbage and an occational malnourished chicken. There was hunger. I lost weight staying in the best hotel in then Leningrad. as all they served were several different variations of cabbage and some Xleb. There was absuletly nothing in the markets. It was not famine. There are lots of well rounded women in Russia a month or two without a lot of food would not make a dent in that. I have seen real deprivation in some of the poorer parts of Russia and in the three years I lived in the far east. Please don't be so quick to judge unless you were there at the time. The reason the woman haunts me is that, she, and many others resented a photographer taking pictures which in their eyes robbed them of their dignity. I literally had to run for my safety after trying to photograph a mob in a market grasping for what little was there. Her look came, I believe in the indignity of being photographed standing in line. It also, as I remember, was cold. Tri X EOS 650

She was probably cold, I know she was hungry, because I was, and I offended her already aroused outrage at having to stand in line for most of the short day in December St. Petersburg. If looks could kill I would be dead. I tried to photograph the interior of a market where a lot of people were competing for very little food. They focused their anger on me and I had to run like hell for my safety.

I posted the picture because I though it reflected, somewhat, the time in Russian history when the USSR was breaking up. When I was there the Ukraine seceeded.. That's another story. Now that I have told the story of the picture this has become a poor attempt at photojournalism.

As I said this food shortage came at a time when the USSR was collapsing, which, as I talked to the citizens, was very unsettling in and of itself, let alone the winters short days, the usual cold and everyone was truly hungry for a couple of months until they managed to bring food into that part of Russia. So that picture means a lot to me. There are a few pictures of food lines at the time in my gallery.

O yeah, you could get some three year old kilbasu on the black market. It was pretty good after you got the mold off it.

Dick - A photo should speak for itself.

Clive I have looked at yours. ho hum.

I should have put up two pictures<div></div>

Upon reflection my caption for this thread was inadequate. It should have read "With the USSR collapsing on a cold December day in 1991 frustrated, angry and hungry citizens wait for hours in line for a meager ration of cabbage and bread". The characterized the situation better and one then does not expect skinny women.in the picture. That is a good point Frank. .

One more food line<div></div>

Well, I wasn't going to say anything but... the "look" of the woman second from the right is a slight smile and in no way indicates the least bit of discomfort or anger. She looks quite pleased with herself actually. If you hadn't included the story with the image one might think she was having a very nice day.

 

Also, Clive France is an excellent photographer from whom you could learn much.

Take it from me, she was angry, and I don't see the smile. As far as I am concerned this whole post was a mistake. My caption was not truly descriptive. Frank's snotty one liner about my sensitivities to starvation was uncalled for and representative of the one line arrogance I see from people who don't post bios,.pay dues or pictures but who throw one line critiques around like they were somewhat superior to those who bother to post. Actually, I worked to help truly starving kids in Taiwan in a very directs hands on way. Have you ever taken care of a 22 pound five year old ravaged by huge intestinal worms? I am responsive to criticism but when I get it I expect to engage in some kind of discussion instead of hit and run cheap shots. I tried to share some of myself and my experience in a very tough time in Russia and I am more than willing to engage in civil discussion. To repeat, hit and run one liners, to me, reflect arrogance. . I have posted a bio which, I think captures my experience in photography and my pictures are posted to show whatever level of meager skill I have.. I have made money in photography and demonstrated a level of commercial competence and a lot of versatility. I claim nothing more than that competence but my work is shown in my gallery and I pay my dues here(a miniscule $25).. As for pictures telling the story in a self contained manner. my criticism of Clive's pictures after looking them, is a lot of them don't say a hell of a lot to me,and they are quite repetitive in nature and style. I take the constructive, non sarcastic side of the above criticism seriously and tried to add words to show that and also more pictures to clarify what I tried to say. I have learned a hell of a lot on this site but I can see why other sites do not allow cheap shot one liners. . I

Other people only see <b>the photos</b>. They don't have your memories of the event; they don't associate the images with your memories.<P>

 

The final line of Frank's post was uncalled for, but every other response to you has been relevant to the discussion. I don't see the hunger, either.

Mike I agree with you that the advice was appropriate. As I said, I disagree with the form and in general the judgmental arrogance some of those who don't reveal anything of their own background and work. I have take it seriously and tried to supply other pictures and written description and I have learned a lesson as I said above. I also think those who use this site extesively and who promote their own expertise should help pay for it. That, of course, is a more general comment and as have been irritated about this for some time I took this opportunity express.it..

Hi Dick, I do not like to join into these discussion, but could not resist.

 

I was there and really lines were a part of USSR life in 1991 and long before. People

stood in line for everything, all day. Prices were too low and there were few goods

on the market and people bought up what they could. For Westerners this seemed

unusual and a sign of some kind of desperation, but often this was just Soviet norm.

 

On the other hand, old people and kids got hit very hard after 1990.

Starving/freezing was/is not uncommon, although not that common either. Now

prices are high and people no longer stand in lines. Everything is available, but I

think people still are in bad shape if they cannot afford the stuff.

 

What I am trying to say is that in USSR long frustrating lines did not equal hunger.

 

HTH, Dmitry

Hi. Dmitri. Except for a short time in Leningrad where there was very little food on just one of my trips, you are right about lines. I was there negotiating some stuff with the All Union Scientific Radio Institute when the Ukaine left the Union. Food was in very short supply, and even at the PreBaltiskaya Hotel on the Baltic you could not get enough to maintain weight. Maybe, now that I think of it, maybe it 1992, not sure. Anyway it was December 8 of either 91 or 92 when the Ukraine seceeded. That night the head of the Institute told me they survived in WW II and they would survive this crisis. He was right. I went to the Beriozka and purchased some cheese for one of the scientists I was working with. He cried. when I gave it to him. His family was hungry.

I went to a military base about eighty miles away and they were baking bread in the chow hall. The aroma was overpowering. We left, what then was a large sume of money in the kitchen and walked away with several bags of Xleb. We lived on it in Leningrad for a couple of weeks. I have some slides and I will dig them out and scan them.

I spent a couple hundred hours or more with a tutor learning Russian. I got so I could ride the train out of Moscow without my minder and actually carry on a rudimentary conversation with my fellow passengers.Thats how I got the pictures of Cergiev Posad in my PN gallery. What wonderful people.

I remember one scene at the Lancome store in Leniingrad where someone had scraped a hole in the blacked out store window and people were literally standing on each other;s shoulders to see what was inside. A cab driver took me out one very cold night in 1991 where I shot pictures of the moon over Peter and Paul that I have to this day. Very hard government to deal with, but I made some great friends and people welcomed and tried to share what little they had. It's a shame the countries were at odds for so long. Thanks for the post. Bolshoi cpaceba, moi droog.