Soviet Beach Portraits by Nikolay Bakharev

Cheryomushki is a photobook by Nikolay Bakharev, published by STANLEY/BARKER in May 2025. The work draws from portraits made at river and lake beaches near Novokuznetsk, in Soviet Siberia, where workers and families gathered during periods of rest. These sites occupied an unusual position in Soviet public life: among the few spaces where a degree of undress was tolerated without official sanction.

Bakharev worked in close physical proximity to his sitters, seeking a cooperative rather than observational dynamic. The resulting images carry no staging and no distance. Couples, families, and groups of friends are recorded in ordinary moments — not arranged for the camera, but present with it. The character of the work is restrained and direct: an archive of everyday Soviet intimacy made without theatrical intent.

The book is bound in hardback with a tipped-on cover image. It runs to 120 pages and measures 240 × 270 mm. Cheryomushki is the second Nikolay Bakharev title from the publisher, following Novokuznetsk, released by STANLEY/BARKER in 2016.