News Stories

“It's funny and nice”. The websites of Ukrainian photographers have been blocked in Russia: Mstislav Chernov, Olena Grom and Sasha Maslov

9.5.2024
2
min read

Web resources of three Ukrainian documentarians, members of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers are blocked in the Russian Federation with all domains and subdomains. This is reported ”Detector Media” with reference to the Russian resource “Roskomsvoboda”.

“The websites of three well-known Ukrainian authors appeared in the register of prohibited information by the decision of an “unspecified state body”. Most likely, this was done for reasons of military censorship,” the statement said.

The web resources of three Ukrainian documentary filmmakers were added to the Russian register of prohibited information: site of the director of the film “20 Days in Mariupol”, the founder of UAPF Mstislav Chernov; site of documentarians Elena Grom, as well as site of Ukrainian-American author Sasha Maslov.

Sasha Maslov actively covers the Russian-Ukrainian war, his photos are published by the columns of the world media. The photographer says that the news about the blocking of Ukrainian photographers' web resources in the Russian Federation caused him a positive reaction: “It's a little funny, of course. On the other hand, it is even pleasant. But this is such a strange recognition. If they are already bothering their heads with such things, then this means that everything is not good in their house. It's really a bit of fun to hold court, read names, and ban sites.”

Elena Grom, who also actively records the consequences of Russian aggression, emphasizes that the truth is the weapon of the victors, because Russia invests a lot of money in its propaganda of the war against Ukraine. “Ukrainian documentary and reportage photography stands up to powerful Russian propaganda. Documentary photography is more than just a visual tool. It is a powerful tool for telling stories, transmitting emotions, raising awareness of people. Through photography, I show the face of this war, tell the stories and realities of the people affected by the war. It evokes empathy and empathy, in all who are capable of feeling. Russia is trying to disperse the Ukrainian people so that their population ceases to feel empathy for Ukrainians. It's so much easier for them to kill us. I have been working on the topic of war in Ukraine since 2016. Documentary projects about Bucha, Marinka, Donbass, children of war and victims of Russian aggression are published on my website. Now Russia has blocked Russian users from accessing my site. For me, this is the best recognition that my work is very important in the fight against Russian propaganda,” says Olena Grom.

Also, Elena says that her site was previously subjected to DDoS attacks. In 2022, she created the project “Means of Education” about children living in de-occupied cities and villages of the Kiev region. At that time, she photographed schoolchildren against the background of destroyed educational institutions and every time after posting photos on social networks, her website was tried to be disabled. “It went on for a month. For me, it served as a marker that I was moving in the right direction,” says Olena Grom.

Previously, the website of the international organization “Reporters Without Borders”, the OSINT Bees project and the domain of the “I Want to Live” project were also blocked.

Mstislav Chernov — Ukrainian documentary filmmaker, photojournalist, director, military correspondent, writer, founder of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. He covered the Revolution of Dignity, the war in eastern Ukraine, the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, the Syrian civil war, the battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in particular the fighting in the surrounded Mariupol. There he shot the footage that later became the film “20 Days in Mariupol”. The American Film Academy awarded Chernov and his team the first Oscar in the history of Ukraine. He is also a laureate of the Shevchenko Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Directors Guild Award and BAFTA.

Elena Gromwas born in Donetsk. Since 2015, she studied at Bird In Flight photo school, Viktor Marushchenko photo school, art business school. Elena works at the intersection of social reporting and conceptual photography. Thunder sees its “mission” in illuminating the lives of people caught up in the “gray zone” or zone close to hostilities. Life in spite of everything is one of the main themes of the artist. The author is a laureate and winner of international competitions. Finalist of LensCulture Portrait Awards UK, YICCA International Contest of Contemporary Art, Kaunas Photo Star Lithuania, Slovak Press Photo, The Tokyo International Foto Awards. It was exhibited in Europe, in the USA, Japan, Colombia.

Sasha Maslov was born in Kharkov. He lives and works in New York. His works have been presented at various venues in Europe and the United States. Collaborates with well-known publications, including The NewYorker, Guardian, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Forbes and others. In his free time, he is engaged in his personal projects, the largest of which today is the project “Veterans”, for which in 5 years the photographer has visited more than 20 countries of the world.

The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar

Web resources of three Ukrainian documentarians, members of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers are blocked in the Russian Federation with all domains and subdomains. This is reported ”Detector Media” with reference to the Russian resource “Roskomsvoboda”.

“The websites of three well-known Ukrainian authors appeared in the register of prohibited information by the decision of an “unspecified state body”. Most likely, this was done for reasons of military censorship,” the statement said.

The web resources of three Ukrainian documentary filmmakers were added to the Russian register of prohibited information: site of the director of the film “20 Days in Mariupol”, the founder of UAPF Mstislav Chernov; site of documentarians Elena Grom, as well as site of Ukrainian-American author Sasha Maslov.

Sasha Maslov actively covers the Russian-Ukrainian war, his photos are published by the columns of the world media. The photographer says that the news about the blocking of Ukrainian photographers' web resources in the Russian Federation caused him a positive reaction: “It's a little funny, of course. On the other hand, it is even pleasant. But this is such a strange recognition. If they are already bothering their heads with such things, then this means that everything is not good in their house. It's really a bit of fun to hold court, read names, and ban sites.”

Elena Grom, who also actively records the consequences of Russian aggression, emphasizes that the truth is the weapon of the victors, because Russia invests a lot of money in its propaganda of the war against Ukraine. “Ukrainian documentary and reportage photography stands up to powerful Russian propaganda. Documentary photography is more than just a visual tool. It is a powerful tool for telling stories, transmitting emotions, raising awareness of people. Through photography, I show the face of this war, tell the stories and realities of the people affected by the war. It evokes empathy and empathy, in all who are capable of feeling. Russia is trying to disperse the Ukrainian people so that their population ceases to feel empathy for Ukrainians. It's so much easier for them to kill us. I have been working on the topic of war in Ukraine since 2016. Documentary projects about Bucha, Marinka, Donbass, children of war and victims of Russian aggression are published on my website. Now Russia has blocked Russian users from accessing my site. For me, this is the best recognition that my work is very important in the fight against Russian propaganda,” says Olena Grom.

Also, Elena says that her site was previously subjected to DDoS attacks. In 2022, she created the project “Means of Education” about children living in de-occupied cities and villages of the Kiev region. At that time, she photographed schoolchildren against the background of destroyed educational institutions and every time after posting photos on social networks, her website was tried to be disabled. “It went on for a month. For me, it served as a marker that I was moving in the right direction,” says Olena Grom.

Previously, the website of the international organization “Reporters Without Borders”, the OSINT Bees project and the domain of the “I Want to Live” project were also blocked.

Mstislav Chernov — Ukrainian documentary filmmaker, photojournalist, director, military correspondent, writer, founder of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. He covered the Revolution of Dignity, the war in eastern Ukraine, the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, the Syrian civil war, the battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in particular the fighting in the surrounded Mariupol. There he shot the footage that later became the film “20 Days in Mariupol”. The American Film Academy awarded Chernov and his team the first Oscar in the history of Ukraine. He is also a laureate of the Shevchenko Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Directors Guild Award and BAFTA.

Elena Gromwas born in Donetsk. Since 2015, she studied at Bird In Flight photo school, Viktor Marushchenko photo school, art business school. Elena works at the intersection of social reporting and conceptual photography. Thunder sees its “mission” in illuminating the lives of people caught up in the “gray zone” or zone close to hostilities. Life in spite of everything is one of the main themes of the artist. The author is a laureate and winner of international competitions. Finalist of LensCulture Portrait Awards UK, YICCA International Contest of Contemporary Art, Kaunas Photo Star Lithuania, Slovak Press Photo, The Tokyo International Foto Awards. It was exhibited in Europe, in the USA, Japan, Colombia.

Sasha Maslov was born in Kharkov. He lives and works in New York. His works have been presented at various venues in Europe and the United States. Collaborates with well-known publications, including The NewYorker, Guardian, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Forbes and others. In his free time, he is engaged in his personal projects, the largest of which today is the project “Veterans”, for which in 5 years the photographer has visited more than 20 countries of the world.

The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar

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