Photographer Daria Nazarova is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘The Time of Water’. To see Daria’s body of work, click on any image.

The past of my family is connected with the places where the Rybinsk reservoir is now located. Between years 1937 and 1941 more than 130,000 people were forced to leave their properties. Stone and old houses were destroyed and burned, the rest were dismantled and transported to new places. Those who remained homeless were paid compensation, but the people had to find a new place to move to by themselves. Those, who couldn’t afford paying workers to disassemble and transfer their houses, had to sell them to Volgostroy for very cheap. Most people moved somewhere nearby and remained to live on the shore of the future sea. There were those who died, unable to survive the shocks, from cold, illness and poverty. In total, about 700 villages were flooded, more than 50 churches, 3 monasteries, noble estates with surrounding territories, gardens and parks, the estate of Musin-Pushkin were destroyed. The whole city of Mologa went under the water.

I was drawn to these places, to find people who would tell about the flooding. Articles from the books were not enough, I needed live witnesses, those, who kept the stories of their relatives. I needed photos, documents, letters, evidence. It is impossible to remain indifferent now, as it is impossible to change what happened. For a long time, there was a ban on Mologa’s topic and people were afraid to share information. Even when it became possible, the most remained silent. Soon there will be no one left to tell us about these events.