This series of photographs was taken in the mountains of the Polar Ural. The hard-to-reach Lake Khadata-Yugan-Lor is hundreds of kilometers from civilization. There is nothing around but boundless tundra, wild mountains, glaciers, bears, hordes of mosquitoes, midges and several reindeer herders’ camps, where people live with their deer in the wild, just like their ancestors did centuries ago. We travelled by all-terrain vehicles through the swamps and tundra, and it took us two days. And our way back was the same.

On the way we broke the brakes on our cross-country vehicles, then our wheel fell off, we got stuck in the swamp, crossed lots of rivers, constantly repaired something and hid from mosquitoes and heavy winds. It seemed that the Spirits of the Polar Urals didn’t really want to let uninvited guests in.

And when you live in the wilderness for a week, some amazing things begin to happen in the tent. One evening I was lying on a soft and elastic moss. It was a hard day behind, so when I finally closed my eyes, some bizarre images of the spirits of these places began to appear in my imagination. Strange faces emerged in consciousness, they smoothly transformed one into another. I believe that in this way the mysterious spirits proved their good will, giving us a possibility to explore their wild and undisturbed possessions.

Well, I tried to convey this cryptic atmosphere in my photos.

The Spirits of the Polar Ural by Liseykina

For more than 15 years I have been exploring remote villages and settlements in my country. Surprisingly, so many places have remained almost the same as in the past. Sometimes, it seems that time has simply frozen there. And in my photographs, I try to preserve a piece of the past in our fast-paced and changing world. My goal is to show the beauty and uniqueness of places that many have forgotten about. In this photo, the small village Dunilovo.

In the 19th century, industry and trade flourished here, ships sailed along the river. Now only memories remain. And most of the merchant houses in the village are closed or abandoned.