Simon Roberts: Motherland

Motherland is a fascinating insight into Russian life and people. As someone who has never been to Russia, I was particularly impressed with Roberts' accessible and open style, which allowed me to experience the surprising diversity and beauty of Russia from the comfort of home. I know that Roberts and his wife spent a year traveling across this enormous territory and their knowledge, sympathy and regard for the country really shines through. The photographs are sensitive but unsentimental, honest but never critical. For me, Roberts' Motherland opened a door onto another world; I haven't seen a better photographic representation of contemporary Russia.

This a beautiful and evocative book. The photographer really got all over the country and he really caught the essence of the Russian people. Every image is stunning and tells a story. It's got a permanent (and prominent) place on my coffee table!

A friend sent me a copy of "Motherland" as a gift, knowing that I had spent eight years in Russia prior to returning to a more predictable, "normal" (boring) suburban American life two years ago. I have not been back to Russia, since, though my wife is Russian, and two of our children were born there. As time passes, memories of the Russia I became a part of begin to fade; images of the people I met and places I visited begin to blur. But what time and a failing memory have taken away, Simon Roberts' "Motherland" has helped to restore. Russia is not as tragic or desparate as the nightly news would have us believe, and much of what Roberts in his travels with his wife has managed to capture is the softer, more human side of the country that would simply never make the editor's cut. While some of his photographs do capture the desparation of a country in painful, often violent transition, he also uncovers the hope and dignity of the people they encountered on their journey. The honesty he is able to coax from his subjects and onto the page is very unusual. What passes for ordinary or every-day in Russia is what for me in many ways is the real Russia, and Roberts manages masterly to capture the true essence of the country, with all its warts and beauty. Roberts and his wife spent a year traveling throughout the vast country, riding trains, mixing with locals, and going to places that ordinary tourists - or even those of us who spent most of our time in the expatriate ghetto of Moscow - would never dream of venturing. In the process, they seem to have come away with an intimate understanding - and empathy - for the people and places that make up "the other" 99% of the country. Roberts' photographs seem to be taken from the inside looking out, not the other way around. In the process, he has, for me, captured in this book the essence of what is so often referred to as the "Russian soul." It's what I miss the most.