PILLGRIMS 1994-2018

For more than 600 years every 3rd of June thousands of orthodox pilgrims gather for the Religious procession in Velikoretskoye village. According to the legend, Nikolay Chudotvorets icon has been found in this very village and began to cure almost at once. Later, the icon was stored in Vyatka and, not to offend feelings of the believers, it had been decided to carry the icon every year with the procession to the place of its finding in Velikoretskoye village and then back to Vyatka. Within five days the pilgrims, praying and chanting walk about 130 kilometers. At the time of the Soviet Union the religious procession was officially forbidden, but pilgrims, hiding in woods from militia, made this way every year. From the early 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the ban was removed, and the quantity of pilgrims increased hundreds times. Now this is one of the most significant events in a religious life of Russia.

Q: Why did you document this pilgrimage for so many years?

A: I have learned about this cross procession when I began working as a photojournalist in Vyatka (Kirov) in 1993. I was interested, I took my camera and went along with the pilgrims. I do not remember exact numbers of them at the time, but I think it was not more than 50 to 60 persons. Most were babushkas (grannies) and a few priests. The event got to my soul so deep that I decided to go on this pilgrimage every year. This year there were about 25 thousand pilgrims. Every time, when I have to decide, whether I should go, I go on this pilgrimage. I do not know, why it took me so long to document this event, may be because I want to understand the soul of my people, Russians. In one of my photographs the pilgrims walk through a forest like water flow in a river. May be I strive to learn more about this river of life?

Q: Do you go as a pilgrim yourself or you go as a documentary photographer?

A: Velikoretsky Cross Proccession have deeply influenced my life. In 2003, being a grown man, I decided to baptize. This ceremony took place right on the bank of a river. It was the strongest impression in my life. From that moment on I went as a pilgrim too.

Q: Can you tell us more about the history of this pilgrimage?

A: More than 600 years ago on a high bank of the Velikaya river near Velikoretskoe village peasant Agalakov found Saint Nikolai Icon on a pine. It happened to have miracle and healing powers. Later this ikon was taken to Vyatka, but it was decided to bring this Icon every year on a Cross procession to the place where it was found to help the people from the Velikoretskoe village. So for more than 600 years orthodox Christians walk for almost 160 kilometers from Vyatka to Velikoretskoe village and back. In Soviet times the pilgrims were not welcome and sometimes persecuted, but they hid from police, still going on with their hard task.

Q: What is so special about this pilgrimage way and the places it goes through?

A: It takes 5 days to walk this way. Pilgrims go through forests, fields and villages. They have several stops along the way and they sleep in big villages: Bobino, Monastyrskoe, Velikoretskoe, Murygino. They spend the nights in farmers houses or schools. Many carry sleeping bags and tents. They pray together during stops. Some people take all the necessary things with them: water, warm clothes, food. There are a lot of places along the way where it is rather hard to walk, and some people even bring their kids along. After prayer service in Velikoretskoe people always go for a swim in the river, not caring about the weather. This is simply fascinating.

Q: You take pictures in a classical style. What masters impressed your visual style? Any prizes?

A: When I began searching for my own style in photography in the beginning of the 90s, I did not have access to the internet or good photography books. I often went to the library and browsed through books on art. I took a particular liking of the impressionists paintings — Degas, Manet, Matiss. Later I learned of Henry Cartier-Bresson and his work. Before that I also studied a lot of Soviet photography. But I still think that painters impressed my style the most.

At the moment I work on a book about Velikoretsky Cross Proccession. I am looking for a publisher, so if any of the readers are interested, please let me know.