Ability to be in the right place at the right time is likely one of the most important talents for a photographer. Besides, a photographer also needs to grab the most interesting scene out of a whirlwind of events. Recently, Ukrainska Pravda’s photographer Dmytro Larin demonstrated this very ability. He turned filming the soccer match between Dynamo and Shakhtar, a regular event held recently at the Olimpiisky National Sports Complex (NSC), into a piece of poignant political reporting. We know that the stadium’s VIP-box is one of the few places where one can simultaneously meet top officials, ministers, businesspeople, members of a variety of parties. They neither argue nor fight there, unlike in the parliament or at political talk shows, but to the contrary, interact in a friendly, businesslike atmosphere. Unfortunately, it is during such informal conversations, and not in the public debate in the Verkhovna Rada, that the most serious issues facing the country are resolved. At least it was so previously: it seemed that the Euromaidan and hundreds of the Donbas war victims would relegate closed politics and opaque arrangements to the past. However, recent developments suggest rather the opposite. Interestingly, despite a new political team taking power, personal composition of the political leadership remained the same, as brilliantly shown by the VIP-box of Kyiv’s Olimpiisky NSC, filmed by Larin during the recent Ukrainian classico. The Day interviewed the photographer about the circumstances of the filming and his own attitude towards his photos’ subject.
What was your assignment on that day?
“I have not received any specific assignments at all lately. I usually film mostly the game itself at soccer events. However, when I see controversial persons there, I certainly cannot help but pay attention to them as well, because I understand that the public will be interested to see these people in an unusual context. I hope my photos will become a document of our time and eventually help to better understand the recent Ukrainian history.”
What do these pictures mean today, in your opinion?
“It is quite a difficult question. I think these photos show that the Euromaidan has not led to a radical change in the elite’s composition, and it actually was not a revolution in the classical sense of the word. For me, it was primarily the Revolution of Dignity, through which ordinary Ukrainians learned to take responsibility for their own lives and for the nation. I filmed similar matches a year or two ago, and I can say that elite fans have diminished their presence at stadiums. They now come together in small groups and very cautiously. Some have even left the country, others have stopped attending public events. I think it shows that there have been some changes in this country, even if slow ones. These photos are of interest because we have become used to seeing politicians quarreling in the parliament or at talk shows, staging confrontations, even though they communicate with each other and relax together privately as if nothing has ever happened between them. This contrast outrages society, but I think we need to understand that it is a commonplace reality of political life in Ukraine. I think even when the old guard will finally retire, leaving the stage to new people with different views, these latter will also continue to communicate with each other in the lobbies and even befriend each other. I would like everyone who felt themselves disappointed over these pictures to think about how they personally can influence the situation in the country, perhaps by running for the Verkhovna Rada or becoming a member of a party they see as worthy of their support. Only then will we begin to change something... Expressing outrage on the Internet is unlikely to bring positive results.”
I know that you have decided to send these pictures to Den’s Photo Contest...
“Indeed, this year marks the first time I decided to take part in it, but honestly, I am unsure if quality of my pictures will fit the bill. I have actually developed quite a difficult relationship with photo contests, perhaps I am too critical of myself... You need to start at some point, though.”
By holding the contest, Den tries to sum up the year, to create a kind of portrait of how the country was doing in it. What was special this year for you as a photographer?
“Of course, this year is very much unlike all previous ones. I regret deeply that I could not film the Euromaidan as much as I wanted to. At first it was something amazing, and then the real horrors started... I could never believe that all this is happening for real. It was very difficult from a moral point of view, as I had never before worked in a warzone, never seen killings firsthand. Some colleagues had filmed fighting before, but it is one matter to film a war abroad and quite another to do it at home. I could no longer remain a bystander, for I am a citizen of this country as well. We all empathized with and even directly participated in these events. I think I still have not quite recovered from it all, some time must elapse first for us to be able to realize the full scale of what happened.”
Have you had a chance to film the fighting in the Donbas?
“I only went once to the positions of the Aidar battalion in summer. Due to family circumstances, it has been the grand total of my trips to the warzone so far. My employer is not too willing to send journalists to the east as well, as they worry about the risk of us being captured. Nevertheless, I think I will soon go to the Donbas again. I must do it, because all major events are happening out there. There are real life and real death there. Compared with this, the general election is of secondary importance only. Wars, as well as, for example, natural disasters, have always attracted the attention of journalists, but for myself, I still have not decided what is the ethical way to cover these events. This is a difficult moral question, there are many nuanced issues with it, but we have to work on it in any case. At a minimum, we can at least provide information support to those guys who are defending Ukraine. The fact that this country has people who are willing to film under these conditions has caused me to feel respect and pride for my colleagues, but I think that there could be more such professionals... Although I can understand those who refuse to go to the warzone as well.”
