Almost 15 years before the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, in the heat of August 2008, Russia
deployed troops into its another neighboring state - Georgia. It happened amidst growing
tensions in South Ossetia - a tiny region in the heart of Georgia that declared independence
in light of deadly clashes that took place during the last months of the Soviet Union. After a
quick victory in 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another
Georgian breakaway region - Abkhazia, - expanded its military presence in these territories,
and began fortifying their boundaries. Four other countries followed Russia’s suit, but the
majority of states in the global community continue to consider these regions part of
Georgia. This conflict remains unresolved to this day and is ready to erupt at any moment.

For more than a decade now, the Russian armed forces have continued to build and
strengthen what they consider to be the "border" alongside Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
They are building fences and separating families with barbed wire, with no regard for their
ethnicity. Every year, dozens of Georgians, Ossetians, and Abkhazians who try to cross this
separation line are imprisoned. At the end of 2023, there were reports of the construction of
a new Russian naval base in Abkhazia, which according to some experts could be used to
expand the military campaign against Ukraine.

Political isolation and financial dependence on the Kremlin in both disputed regions
contribute to mass unemployment, corruption, and human rights abuses. Economically weak
South Ossetia regularly holds referendums on joining Russia, but the Kremlin ignores them,
favorably maintaining the dual status quo. Abkhazia is trying to assert its independence, in
exchange for giving its land to Russian military bases and making other concessions to
please Russia. More than 250,000 Georgians expelled from Abkhazia and South Ossetia
have been unable to return to their homes.

The project was photographed over a five-year period (2019-2023) and gives an insight into
the long-term consequences of the unresolved conflicts in the South Caucasus and, looking
at the flame-covered lands of Ukraine, raises the question of the future of the territories,
which Russia declared independent.