The road to the Kubachi village is impressive. The distance seems to be short on the map, but in fact it is four or five hours of travel by serpentine mountain dirt roads. Eventually we got really tired of this narrow road with the sheer drop from one side and rocks from the other, of these endless descents and ascents. It got dark, but the road seemed to be endless. Suddenly we topped the ridge and saw Las Vegas. Kubachi shines like real Las Vegas in this complete wilderness, in total darkness under a starry sky. And you see all this with the feeling that it is unreal for people to live in this area. Meanwhile they do have an excellent wi-fi and a gas pipeline there. Civilization has come there, but still these are wild places. They are hiding behind the fog and live their traditional life so far.
The photographic team includes from 6 to 7 people. Usually we were offered a room or two for the night, while the owners crowded somewhere. Once at night our screenwriter in Kubachi could not find the toilet at the men’s part of the house. Half-awake he unexpectedly dropped into the women's part wearing only his underwear. That moment we were smoking on the balcony with our accompanee. Whenever he saw it, he cried: «Are you crazy? If Aqsaqal comes now he shoots you!». Meanwhile our guy was just looking for a toilet. Of course, no one would shoot, it was a joke, but he would be reproved for sure.
While making a film «Russia through the train window» (in 2012 Anton Lange and his team released a documentary about the three-year rail photography expedition from Kaliningrad to the Vanino bay and from Sochi to the Polar Urals - Ed.), we touched the Caucasus slightly. We filmed the Apsheronsk narrow-gauge railway in Krasnodar Krai, which is now dismantled. We were given protection by Russian Railways then. We could not understand why, as there were no «hot spots» there, but took it with humor. In fact, the media creates an image of the troubled region by telling stories about the detention of different gangs in the Caucasus. This is not true. We traveled without any bodyguards.
When I was young I travelled to Zheleznovodsk, I really like Georgian cinema. The image of Mimino seems romantic to me. I always had a desire to plunge into this world of the Caucasus. And now a long-standing dream came true. To be absorbed deeper is only possible if you move there.
After this trip, I realize why they are dancing lezginka in Moscow and shooting a firearm into the air. This is normal. This is the way they express their emotions. Another thing is that it's not accepted in Moscow therefore condemned. The same thing is true in the Caucasus, for example, it is not acceptable to smoke in public places in Chechnya.
My task was to prepare the material, texture and to help Anton Lange on the set. We had a scenario plan, but we did not have any prepared scripts, because any trip itself is a huge number of surprises and twists that create some turns and collisions for future action. In other words, life itself often dictated stories.
I visited the Caucasus 15 years ago working as a war correspondent. So I can judge about the changes that have occurred during this time.
Now the Caucasus reminds me of the Buddhist serenity. We were traveling without any bodyguards and were accompanied by ordinary people, the staff of the republican ministries of tourism and local guides.
He was Ingush, he was in the war, won many awards, but, like every Ingush, he was deported. It seemed to me, he pretended to forget the Russian language, but nonetheless he never expressed any negative attitude towards us.
Later in Kubachi we met a blacksmith Abdulla Magomedov, who did not speak Russian. Or rather, he had a very peculiar accent - he was Dargin who never traveled away from Makhachkala. Thus he spoke like a poet trying to use words correctly and using different metaphors. It was amazing.
Ossetia is probably not the most friendly, but surely my congenial republic. It is small, Karmadon and Digora Gorge is a fiction, which is half an hour drive from Vladikavkaz. So you leave very decent city of Vladikavkaz, and you get directly into the wild gorge. Such fantastic landscapes are everywhere: in Ingushetia - towers, in Kabardino-Balkaria - Chegem gorge, Bezengiyskaya wall, the Elbrus. Nature is magnificent everywhere: on one mountain you may see woodlands and tundra, and glaciers as well- kind of an Earth model in miniature.
Arkhyz attracts an eye with its nature and combination of civilization and a simple highland culture. You can sit in a cafe on the street, and watch a cow going by, or even a horse taking something tasty from your plate. All that is so organic there, it seems like it is the only way it may be.
We were accompanied only by the locals, they helped us to get on time anywhere we needed, not to get lost. These guys were amazing, they were ready to tell us everything - the good and the bad - about their little home. The most important thing for them was just to share.
Dagestan impressed me most. The mountains are exceptional, strong and unapproachable there. When it gets dark high in the mountains you see thousands of stars on the horizon, but later you realize that it is the light of electric lamps in the far away villages.
We were lucky to get to Gimry, because usually people are not allowed there. We were totally conquered by sincere faces of locals and children. They were all interested to come and see the crew. The local imam allowed us to climb and see the minaret. Then he began service. He explained to people that the off-hour prayer dedicated to the guests. I was impressed. We filmed this imam and his pretty granddaughter. Such a beautiful kid – I still remember this shot like it was done now.
If the state decides to invest money, I'm afraid it might spoil the place. It is necessary to preserve what is there now, and to create better conditions for people to go there. But all this should be done carefully.