Max Avdeev

Motorcycle is Mongolia's main transport. September 2012. #mongolia #motorcycles #bikers #moto #riders #иж #ижпланета

My fav town of Tiksi during a heavy snow blizzard. The town is located on the shores of the Laptev sea and crazy blowing winds can last more than a week, when life pauses. Yakutia, February 2020. #arctic #yakutia #sakha #tiksi #russianarctic #laptevsea

Girls play with syringes as water pistols on a bank of the Panj river near Yamchun, small village some 80km east from Ishkashim in Wakhan valley. Wakhan valley, one the most beautiful place in the region, is the main agriculture spot in the Badakshan or Pamir region and forms the Tajik-Afghan border. The narrow land of Wakhan Corridor was a buffer zone between the Russian Empire and the British Empire from the 1873 agreement that sets border by the Panj river. Even Soviet invasion to Afghanistan left region almost untouched, later it became a smuggling corridor for heroin. Aug 2011, Sept 2017, Aug 2019. #wakhan #wakhancorridor #badakhshan #yamchun #pamir #tajikistan

Khujand, one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, is located in northern Tajikistan on the Syr Darya River next to important Fergana valley and always was a stop at the Silk Road. Nowadays, it is Tajikistan’s second-largest city. The Panjshanbe Bazaar is the central market of Khujand and one of the largest and most vibrant in Tajikistan. #khujand #khudjand #tajikistan #centralasia #panjshanbe

Panjakent, a city on a border between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with diverse population, is shaped being by its location on trade routes intersection along Zarafshan river. Tajikistan, 2017, 2019. #panjakent #zarafshan #tajikistan #centralasia

Max is a documentary photo journalist. He has contributed extensively to magazines such as Atlantic, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Financial Times, and The New York Times and New Republic. Balancing commercial projects with journalistic endeavors, Max applies a documentary approach to his photography. Check his work through our website, link in BIO.

Kyrgyzstan is an incomparable and my beloved country, especially the Alay Valley and the Naryn River Valley. Dear 2025, please bring me more work in my fav Central Asia! #kyrgyzstan #naryn #alayvalley #narynvalley #centralasia

On Purim, to ensure a quorum for prayer, rabbis from the Moscow Jewish Center visited Correctional Colony IK-28, a high-security prison for repeat offenders located in Yertsevo, in the far north of the Arkhangelsk region. The colony lies in a harsh, unforgiving climate and occupies the grounds of former Stalin-era labor camps that were part of the notorious KargopolLag system. The prison administration encourages religious activities among inmates, as they help reduce idle conflicts. Alongside Jewish prayer services, the colony also accommodates a prayer room for Muslims, who make up nearly half of the prison population, as well as a temple constructed by the inmates themselves. February 2010. #russianprison #prison #camp #kargopollag #archangelsk #purim.

Correctional Facility IK-32 in Perm Krai known for its prisons and the unforgiving climate of the Northern Urals. Life here is shaped by discipline, order, and the strict routine enforced by the adm. Over 35% of female inmates are sentenced under Article 228, often called the “people’s article,” for drug-related offenses. This facility, like many others in the region, is a “red zone,” where the administration holds complete control, replacing criminal hierarchies with rigid institutional rules. Under the floodlights in the yard, women in scarves and padded jackets shovel snow, their breath visible in the freezing air. When someone in civilian clothes passes by, they must greet them without fail. «Why aren’t they saying hello?» a commanding voice from a prison officer snaps. One of the women lowers her gaze and quickly whispers, «Hello,» visibly uncomfortable. Such details, while small, highlight the strict discipline that governs every moment here, from the sewing workshops where inmates work to the clean pathways and neatly arranged facilities. On the second photo is Lisa. At 27, she’s one of the many women here who has a history of struggling with addiction. Lisa grew up in Chusovoy, a small industrial town near Perm, where, as she puts it, there’s little to offer besides a factory and heroin. Her addiction led her in and out of trouble, and eventually, her mother turned her in to the police, believing prison was her last chance to be saved from heroin addiction. While serving her sentence, Lisa decided she wouldn’t return to her old life. After her release in 2015, she went back to Chusovoy and started working at a toy store as both a salesperson and a bookkeeper. Determined to rebuild her life, she even designed the store’s logo and branding herself. Lisa is just one of many women here trying to hold onto their second chance. For them, life inside the facility, despite its strictness, represents something many of them have rarely known: stability and structure. But as they leave, the real test begins—finding the strength not to fall back into old habits. Details by @vaninalena . Thx for help and edit @sashamademuaselle .

Correctional Colony No. 28, a maxim security facility for repeat offenders convicted of murder, violence, and terrorism, is located in the remote village of Yertsevo, deep in the forests of Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, where winters are bitterly cold, and snow reaches waist-deep. Isolated from the rest of the world, the only connection to the outside is a railway station—no proper roads lead here. Once part of Stalin’s infamous Kargopollag system of labor camps, the colony continues its grim legacy: prisoners still labor cutting down trees. Yertsevo, February 2010. #yertsevo #russianprison #prison #northprison #ik28 #kargopollag

After the construction of the Kokaral Dam, which prevents water from flowing into Uzbekistan’s Southern Aral and evaporating, Kazakhstan has been gradually refilling its part of the Northern Aral Sea. As water levels rose, the fishing industry revived, and many makeshift workshops like this one are operating. These simple facilities provide vital jobs but also reflect the tough conditions for both the workers and the environment. Aral, Kazakhstan, August 2014. #kazakhstan #aral #fishing #centralasia

AralTuz is the largest salt producer in the former USSR, it’s production covers 70%+ of the Kazakhstan market and around 20% of the Russian market. Every year 600 thousand tons of salt are mined here, a key enterprise for the Aral region with more than 1,200 employees. 12km east of Aral, Kazakhstan, August 2014. #aral #arattuz #kazakhstan #salt #aralsea