In the photos, you can see many crimes of the Russian army, which were recorded by Konstantin Revutsky.
The exhibition “The Price of Freedom” by photographer Kostyantyn Revutskyi was presented in Lviv. It consists of 40 photographs and combines two projects of the author: “Bakhmut. The city of the unconquered” and “Raisin. Deoccupation”.
The goal of the project is to show the resilience and indomitability of the Ukrainian people after the start of a full-scale war. The photos show the history of two cities that were subjected to rocket fire, occupation, and mass killings of civilians.
The paintings have already been seen in Kyiv, but today they were presented in Lviv, in particular, in the Lviv OVA.
“I was impressed by the photographs of Kostiantyn Revutskyi. The moments captured by them echo the grief we experienced after a rocket hit a Lviv high-rise building. And how many tragic moments did Ukrainians experience during 1.5 years of full-scale war! The photographer conveyed all the pain that Russia brought with it. At the same time, these pictures reinforce feelings of hatred and motivation to quickly defeat and expel the occupier from the native land. And I am glad that this exhibition is traveling around the world, because the war continues and humanity must remember at what price such concepts as “democracy” and “will” exist. The most memorable photo from Bakhmut shows elderly people holding hands and dragging a large suitcase behind them. In this suitcase, probably, is their whole life. Even in times of war, love wins. Everyone should see the exhibition!” – stressed the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytskyi.
In the photos, you can see many horrors that the author recorded. In the works from Izyum, there are mass burials in forests, destroyed Russian military equipment, a destroyed bridge, peaceful people against the background of a destroyed city, children in their own houses damaged by shelling. From Bakhmut – Ukrainian flags on the shelled walls, destroyed high-rise buildings, a couple of pensioners with a suitcase, bloody stretchers on which our soldiers were lying.
“We filmed in Kupyansk, Lyman, and Balaklia – that is, the entire Izyum region. It was September 2022. We entered the area immediately after the sappers, photographed people against the background of destroyed buildings, recorded the crimes of the Russian occupiers. In total, there were ten trips to Izyum. We came to Bakhmut for the first time in December 2022, there were two trips to the front. The photo shows everything that I saw with my own eyes and decided to convey through the prism of my lens. From among the thousands of photos taken for the exhibition, I chose only 40 that most vividly show the crimes of the Russian army on our land,” Kostyantyn Revutskyi said.
This photo exhibition has already been presented in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany. Some of the works are currently exhibited in Canada and Great Britain. According to the author, foreigners react with surprise. Many tourists in European cities could not understand what was depicted in the photo: whether it was reality or fiction.
“There were dissatisfied spectators. And it was the Russians, of course!”, the photographer added.
The photo exhibition was organized with the support of Lviv OVA and NGO “In the Heart with Ukraine”. Andriy Godyk, the first deputy head of OVA, and Yuriy Kotyk, a public figure, also came to the presentation.
The author promises to bring the photo exhibition to Lviv again, so that everyone can see his works.