Yuri'S Journey to Hell

• Photographer
  Alexey Yurenev
• Prizes
  Silver in Editorial/Photo Essay, Gold in Editorial/Personality, Silver in People/Portrait, 2nd Place winner in Editorial

Yuri Smirnov is a WWII veteran and a geologist who dedicated most of his life to his work. Since 1970 he was working on a Kola Super Deep Borehole, the deepest man made hole on the planet reaching over 12km. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the project was shut down and the site was dismantled for scrap metal. Rumor goes that sounds of hell were recorded in the hole, which has become a reason for the termination of the project. All these years later, Yuri is living alone in the town next to the borring site, unable to leave due to his health and abandoned by his family.