Tolyatti, the industrial birthplace of the iconic Lada, a city built from the ground up in 1964 following the construction of a massive automobile plant on the banks of the Volga River, is now but a shadow of what it once was. Often compared to Detroit, the city became a victim of the wave of capitalism that swept through Russia in the 1990s. This mono-industrial city now harbors ruins, an overall sense of stagnation, and the largest population of unemployed youth in the country.

Hovering over the city, the shadow of military conscription weighs heavily on the shoulders of these young men — idealistic yet uninspired by the prospect of serving a country that offers them so few opportunities, and even fewer dreams. Instead, among this disillusioned youth, we find the members of Boyevaya Klassika, a group that, unlike their elders who occupy themselves with ice fishing, spends their time drifting in souped-up old Ladas — symbols of hope and vitality — on the streets of the city that raised them. A manifesto of urban reclamation, perhaps.

Jason Todd
Artistic Director
Tënk

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