Satellites

September 4, 2005 8:06 PM

States That Do Not Actually Exist. (Flash, in english, but link is in french). Norwegian photographer Jonas Bendiksen, with credentials from Magnum, has been working on a project he calls SATELLITES. It is a photographic journey through the scattered enclaves, unrecognized mini-states, and other isolated communities that straddle the sourthern borderlands of the former USSR. The itinerary goes through such places as TRANSDNIESTER, a breakaway republic in Eastern Europe, ABKHAZIA, a unrecognized country on the Black Sea, the religiously conservative FERGHANA VALLEY in Central Asia, the SPACECRAFT CRASH ZONES between Russia and Kazakhstan, and the JEWISH AUTONOMOUS REGION of Far Eastern Russia.
posted by derangedlarid (23 comments total)

Awesome. Fantastic photos, fascinating stories. Thanks!
posted by nylon at 8:20 PM on September 4, 2005

[this is good.]
posted by kyleg at 8:32 PM on September 4, 2005

I just thought they looked pretty.
posted by derangedlarid at 8:35 PM on September 4, 2005

I really love the butterflies & spacecraft picture near the end. Can someone please link to a high res jpg of it?
posted by riffola at 8:47 PM on September 4, 2005

Hutt River Province, not far from where I live.

So on the twenty-first day of April 1970, formal notice of secession was duly served on the Premier Sir David Brand, the Governor Sir Douglas Kendrew, the Acting Prime Minister of Australia Mr John McEwen, and the Governor General of Australia, Sir Paul Hasluck.

This dude has even issued his own stamps. Government here seems quite ambivalent towards him, in a "he's just a harmless crank and is good for tourism" kind of way, which is nice.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 9:23 PM on September 4, 2005

Interesting, thanks!
posted by lorrer at 9:32 PM on September 4, 2005

The first non-Katrina link iI've clicked in days. Thanks for that.
posted by moonbird at 9:42 PM on September 4, 2005

Excellent.
posted by parki at 9:47 PM on September 4, 2005

Interesting... the other day I saw "Jewish Autonomous Republic" on some old maps of far east Russia... I thought "wtf?" and chalked it up to a relic of 19th century history. I had no idea it was still there. Interesting story on it.
posted by rolypolyman at 9:56 PM on September 4, 2005

We all needed that. Thank you.
posted by dhartung at 10:33 PM on September 4, 2005

Perhaps the most interesting (to Westerners) is the Kaliningrad Oblast', an enclave on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania (in other words, far from Mother Russia). Also known as Königsberg, the area is an economic disaster for Russia, since the military -- previously the largest employer -- reduced its operations, leaving many unemployed and much toxic waste. However, Kaliningrad does provide an ice-free port for Russia's European side, and is home to mostly ethnic Russians. For those reasons, it is unlikely that Moscow will abandon it anytime soon.
posted by rob511 at 10:46 PM on September 4, 2005

Some of those photos were great, but I found the narration very distracting, so down down went the volume. Free the photos, let them speak for themselves.
posted by shotsy at 11:22 PM on September 4, 2005

I don't know whether to be happy or concerned that Taiwan is not on his list.
posted by Poagao at 11:41 PM on September 4, 2005

Lovely stuff ! Downloadable Jpgs would be just yummy.
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:42 PM on September 4, 2005

Ah, I see, it's geography that's getting in my way here.
posted by Poagao at 11:42 PM on September 4, 2005

In the same vein, BBC Places That Don't Exist
posted by calwatch at 12:32 AM on September 5, 2005

Very tasteful flash interface. I wish online slideshows of this caliber were more plentiful on the web. I found the narration quite helpful in giving the photos context.
posted by FissionChips at 2:32 AM on September 5, 2005

Stunning photographs. Thanks, derangedlarid.
posted by jack_mo at 4:33 AM on September 5, 2005

See also the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (discussed here).

Nice post!
posted by languagehat at 5:56 AM on September 5, 2005

Brilliant stuff.

Check out the rest of the magnuminmotion.com site too, with more commented slideshows.
posted by funambulist at 6:10 AM on September 5, 2005

This is why I love Mefi.There's so much information, pathos and humor here - the barbershop window, the dead cows, the bathing in desert sand, the butterflies, even his comments over the credits. Thanks so much for this.
posted by mediareport at 9:58 AM on September 5, 2005

How does the crash zone work? Is it an alternative to landing in the ocean? The crashed ships didn't look terribly good. I hope the cosmonauts have a more gentle landing.
posted by Alison at 2:00 PM on September 5, 2005

Amazing. Thanks!
posted by Eamon at 8:10 PM on September 7, 2005