A bus nearing the border on the Military Road

Somewhere Else
(Ongoing Project)
The Ukraine war has raged for 3 years with devastating consequences for the region. One sometimes overlooked side effect is the enormous displacement of people from Belarus and Russia, where hundreds of thousands have been forced into exile, due to their countries' rapid shift to authoritarianism.
Large numbers of dissidents and oppositionists have ended up in Georgia, as it was the quickest and easiest path to safety. However they are not granted asylum nor residence, so they must stay there effectively as permanent tourists. Everyone does the visa run once a year over the border, hoping there won't be problems this time. Everyone knows they don't have a future in this place. For most, returning home is not an option - some await prison sentences while others simply can't imagine life in a closed regime.
Many have fallen in love with Georgia - for it's rich and hospitable culture and landscape. Despite this, they must live in uncertainty, unable to make plans. There are no guarantees. And over the last year, Georgia itself is shifting towards authoritarian rule. This leaves them even less secure in their place of refuge, wondering if Georgia will become the next Ukraine or Belarus.
Despite all the difficulties, life goes on. This project explores the life in limbo for our European neighbours who wish for the freedoms enjoyed across the EU,  but who have been pushed out to the edge - to the “balcony of Europe". How does one cope, make a community and survive in a limbo state, that is becoming less secure all the time?  The initial photographs and interviews were made in 2025.

"I don't make any plans, because of so many uncertainties. Nobody is making any plans for at least half a year." Stasia, formerly an opposition journalist from Belarus.

Coming together at twilight on Mtatsminda, the hill overlooking Tbilisi

"I couldn't deal with the fact that so many people supported the war." Dmitri has a tattoo of Navalny's own handwriting which reads: "I'm not afraid, so you don't be either"

"I took one bag; my laptop and clothes. I thought I was maybe going for 6 months" Mikhail fled from Belarus to Tbilisi

A semi-abandoned building on the Military Road

Iryna: "In Minsk, there was a goal - to leave, here there is a goal - to survive. We don't have a single document, and we face real prison terms at home."

Denis, a Russian activist who fled persecution, now runs a social space for exiles in Tbilisi, "we organise discussions, support groups, workshops on human rights, social and anti-war topics"

"Like everyone, we participated in the protests in Minsk, now we can't go back, the risk is too high." Daryna fled to Tbilisi with her family

At a church in the remote Javakheti Plateau

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