Vladimir Sevrinovsky

The Marem Group is a team of volunteers helping victims of domestic violence in the North Caucasus, Russia. It was created in 2020 by Dagestani journalist Svetlana Anokhina. After their shelter was raided by a joined team of Chechen and Dagestani cops, they had to leave Russia. But Svetlana continues to evacuate girls. The documentary traces these runaways on different phases of evacuation – from their republics to the long process of rehabilitation in other countries. But abusers threaten not only girls. Members of the Marem Group are not safe even outside Russia. They can also become runaways at any moment.

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The Nanaisky district, situated on the northeastern banks of the Amur River, lies northeast of Khabarovsk. The Nanai people are among the indigenous communities of the Far East, numbering approximately 12 thousand in Russia. Andrei Beldy, a cultural advocate for the Nanai community residing in the village of Naikhin, expresses concern about the fading of traditions and the Nanai language. Only a few hundred individuals can speak it fluently, with local children receiving instruction from an enthusiastic linguist from Veliky Novgorod. Beldy recounts the historical displacement of Nanais to Sakhalin during Stalin's era to populate the former Japanese territory. He criticizes the current authorities for restricting free fishing, a traditional occupation for the Nanai people. Most villages lack access to gas, and timber is exported abroad. With the onset of the war in Ukraine, many Nanai residents, including the elderly and deceased, received conscription notices.

Tyva, the poorest region of Russia, ranks first in the country in terms of the number of confirmed losses in the war in Ukraine per capita. Nadezhda Baykara, a resident of the small Tuvan village of Sush, is proud that the men from her family have always served. My uncle died on the territory of Ukraine in the Great Patriotic War, my son participated in the seizure of Crimea, was in Syria. In the spring, Nadezhda's beloved grandson, Aldyn-Herel, died in the war in Ukraine. Baykara is sure that her other grandson will also become a soldier. Meanwhile, local shamans perform rituals to protect soldiers sent to Ukraine from death. Only a few young Tuvans, despite the risks, dare to speak out against the war.

Female circumcision is the name given to female genital mutilation. Female circumcision is practiced, including in the North Caucasus. There is no age limit; both an adult woman and a baby can trim the clitoris and labia. Most often girls 5-12 years old are circumcised. The authors spoke with women who were circumcised, found out where this mutilating rite came from and how it relates to Islam, and also answered the question of why the numerous victims are silent.

Anton is a wandering shaman in Tyva. A long time ago, he abandoned his wife and children to live the life of a nomad. But he is getting old and misses home and family. And he's also trying to take care of Daria, a lonely Russian woman.

The Volochanka village is located in the middle of the Taimyr Peninsula. Half of its inhabitants are Dolgans, a Turkic people related to the Yakuts. The other half are the Nganasans, another indigenous people of the North. About a hundred people speak Nganasan all over the world, their traditional culture is under threat. The Terebikhin family came to the village. They are dreamers who come up with tons of different projects. The most ambitious, almost utopian is the construction of the first musk ox farm in Eurasia. But fulfilling the dream is not easy, because life in the North is hard and sometimes deadly.

Over the years of the war, thousands of Russian prisoners have been released. Until autumn 2024, they could sign six-month military contracts and receive a presidential pardon. Some of them had been convicted of serious crimes and thus avoided decades in prison. Among those released was the murderer of Kemerovo student Vera Pekhteleva — her parents learned about his freedom only six months later. We filmed the stories of victims whose mothers lost track of the convicted killers and still do not know where they are. We also spoke with two former offenders who returned from the front and are now trying to live as ordinary citizens.

Letnyaya Zolotitsa is a village situated along the shores of the White Sea, approximately 180 kilometers from Arkhangelsk. During winter, access to the village is limited to snowmobiles or, alternatively, by air using an old An-2 aircraft. Ilya Ikonnikov, the head of the Letnyaya Zolotitsa landing site, assumes multiple roles, serving as an air traffic controller, airfield watchman, cashier, loader, and stoker—all in one. He travels to the village from his hometown of Onega as part of his duty. Ikonnikov, a former journalist and poet, finds less recognition and congratulations in his aviation work than the personalized epitaphs he crafts. However, he considers the "An-2 service" a calling passed down from his grandfather and father.