Photography inside a Russian prison: BCB faculty Dr. Denis Skopin publishes book The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia

Dr. Denis Skopin, guest faculty member at Bard College Berlin and Smolny Beyond Borders, has recently published the English-language photography book The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia (Fresh Verlag, 2025). Skopin is a Russian scholar jailed in 2022 for anti-war activities and subsequently fired from St. Petersburg University. He has been living in Berlin since 2023.

The Year Twenty Twenty-Two presents 56 photographs exploring various facets of Russia’s political life taken after the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, documenting the country’s shift toward “open dictatorship, militaristic hysteria, and persecution of dissidents and minorities.”

“I would like my book to function as a warning sign to my European and American readers,” Skopin says. “Overall, my book is not just about Russia: It is about society under dictatorship. It is also a book about how freedom can be taken from you. The danger is that freedom is not taken away instantly—it is taken step by step.”

Over the course of 2022 to 2023 when the photos were taken, Skopin found himself an outsider in his own country. In particular, he was jailed for a brief period of time in Shpalernaya Prison in 2022, which he describes as “more a measure of intimidation than punishment.”

Towards the end of his incarceration, he was permitted to bring in his camera and take photos of the prison space and fellow prisoners. “The jail staff were not very happy that I had a camera,” Skopin explains. “But the object they really fear is a mobile phone—because it can record sound, it is more dangerous for police officers committing human rights violations.”

Outside the prison, the photos in The Year Twenty Twenty-Two include portraits of far-right activists supporting the invasion, anti-war protesters, pro-government events, and anti-war rallies. The book seeks not only to document the political landscape under dictatorship, but also to explore the underlying psycho-social dynamics within the country.

Skopin believes these dynamics are of the utmost importance for people outside Russia to understand. “As the war in Ukraine has continued for more than three years, emotional responses in Western societies are less strong than they were in 2022,” he states. “People are beginning to normalize the situation. In some European countries, voices arguing that this war is not their concern are becoming more noticeable. I think these people do not fully understand the nature of Russia’s regime.” 

Even though he argues that the golden age of social-documentary photography is gone in the midst of new forms of media and technological advances, Skopin still believes that photography “has critical power and can be a local or intellectual ‘player’ in a world dominated by more technologically advanced media.”

The Year Twenty Twenty-Two: Photographs from St. Petersburg, Russia is available from Fresh Verlag and Amazon.

By: Sophia Paudel, Bard College Berlin Communications

Post Date: 11-18-2025