Institute of Modern Russia continues its efforts in raising awareness of the disastrous state of affairs with HIV / AIDS and Tuberculosis in Russia. On July 23rd, at the XIX International AIDS Conference of 2012 in Washington, IMR will showcase a series of photographs portraying TB and HIV / AIDS-afflicted patients, recently taken in Russia by New York-based photographer Misha Friedman.
There are currently around 665,000 HIV-infected people registered in Russia, with the situation having further deteriorated in recent years. As independent observers report, the incidence of TB and HIV / AIDS has reached epidemic levels in Russia and the former Soviet republics. Despite these grim figures, the authorities have not only ignored this problem, but have also actively suppressed information surrounding it.
In the face of scarce information about the epidemic, New York-based photographer Misha Friedman has presented IMR with a valuable resource in the photographs he took starting in 2008, documenting the lives and inadequate treatment of HIV / AIDS and TB patients in the Caucasus, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
In the autumn of 2011, with IMR's support, Friedman expanded his project, visiting and photographing TB hospitals in St. Petersburg and Togliatti, Russia. Full information on IMR’s HIV / AIDS and TB projects is available here.
Polina, 37, has just been brought into the hospital severely malnourished. She is diagnosed with tuberculosis, hepatitis C and HIV. Botkin Hospital for Infectious Diseases, St. Petersburg, Russia.
IMR’s HIV / AIDS and Tuberculosis project aims to raise awareness of this grave situation in the Russian and international communities. Our mission is to stimulate the efforts of political and human rights activists, the media, and all those who advocate for HIV / AIDS and TB sufferers in Russia. Misha Friedman integrated himself into this unfortunate community, creating a touching documentary that provides us with a glimpse into these patients’ lives. He presents a series of haunting black-and-white images that blend together, provoking a feeling of hopelessness and despair, leaving no one indifferent. (Please, read our exclusive interview with the photographer here.)
At this IMR event, Putin’s Russia: Life with HIV/AIDS and TB, Misha Friedman will personally present his work and address questions from the audience. Having worked with Doctors Without Borders for several years, Friedman had a unique opportunity to develop a clear and unbiased opinion on the state of HIV / AIDS and TB patients in Russia and CIS countries. Anya Sarang and Aleksandra Volgina (President of Andrey Rylkov Foundation and Advocacy Coordinator for E.V.A., a St.Petersburg-based organization providing assistance to HIV-positive women, respectively) will also share their views on the problems surrounding HIV in Russia.
Institute of Modern Russia cordially invites everyone to attend Misha Friedman’s exhibition.
The presentation will take place on July 23rd from 6.30 to 8.00 pm
at Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place NW
Washington, DC 20001
Human Rights / Social, Economic and Prevention Justice Zone
Booth GV-806, Global Village, Hall B
For more information on Human Rights / Social, Economic and Prevention Justice Zone
go to www.hivhumanrightsnow.org
