“Russian Riviera”: Resort City of Yalta in Stunning Photos by Martin Parr

Gay guys on the shore of the Black Sea

Images from a British photographer Martin Parr who visited Yalta, Ukraine, in summer 1995. At that time, Ukrainian Crimea was still absolutely Soviet, people on the photos look exactly like the ones from the Soviet epoch with lots of interest in all possible western stuff. However, the transformation had already begun and the author captured that vibe.

Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world. Previously featured here and here.

More: Martin Parr

Russian prostitutes in a hotel

Nightclub dancing

Mafia member and his family

State country house of Leonid Brezhnev, back then anyone could enter the house and spend some time there.

Brezhnev’s country house (dacha)

Dacha of Brezhnev

Russian arms dealer on the tennis court of an old sanatorium in Gurzuf.

Dacha of Brezhnev. Ex-training specialist of combat dolphins

Soldiers from a military sanatorium

Mercedes should be protected from the sun!

Dancers in the hotel “Yalta Intourist”

Former military sanatorium in Gurzuf

Local bandits

Brezhnev’s state summer house

Martin Parr – self-portrait

Mafia member and his security in the background

Tourists from Germany