Soviet Beach Portraits by Nikolay Bakharev
Cheryomushki is a Photobooks title 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 Bakharev title from the publisher, following Novokuznetsk, released by STANLEY/BARKER in 2016.
About the Photographer
Nikolay Bakharev was born in the late 1940s in Soviet Siberia. He later settled in Novokuznetsk, where he worked as a photographer for state Household Services, making official portraits in schools, factories, and public institutions.
In the early 1980s, Bakharev turned to private portraiture, traveling to nearby river and lake beaches to photograph workers and families outside the scope of official commission. STANLEY/BARKER previously published his book Novokuznetsk in 2016. Bakharev has also been associated with the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize context through his 2011 exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
