Haunting Photos Of Moscow’s Young Ravers And Their Lives After Dark

Photographer Arnold Veber’s lens observes the pendulum of Russian life.

Putin has governed Russia – alternatively as President or Prime Minister – since 1999, meaning that a lot of Russian kids born around the 00s only know life under his rule. Rampant corruption, limited civil liberties, or the government’s overt hatred towards LGBT people are some of the characteristics defining modern Russia.

Meanwhile, during the night and into the early hours, young Muscovites roam the city bars and clubs in an attempt to escape the gloom and doom. With Last Night I’m Done, shot between 2014 and 2015, photographer Arnold Veber created an improvised documentation of his friends.

“Why were people drinking so much vodka? Why is this happening? Why are these people so unhappy and depressed?” he asks as we speak over the phone.

A student at the Rodchenko Art School at the time, Veber began to party loads.

“Maybe four times a week,” he recalls. “And if you see the same people every weekend you become like an invisible man with a camera.”

Veber would go on to shoot hundreds of stills, portraying the different sensations and emotions experienced during a night of partying.

More: Flickr, Instagram h/t: dazeddigital