Under Vladimir Putin’s rule, Russia has reclaimed its position among the superpowers of the world in the past eight years, the economic recession and the tumultuous nineties seemingly all but forgotten. Thanks to the country’s huge abundance of raw materials such oil and natural gas, the Russian economy is flourishing as never before. After a mere 18 years of capitalism, the January 2008 issue of Finans Magazine reported that there are currently 101 billionaires in Russia. It is difficult to detect much prosperity in the book ‘101 Billionaires’, which portrays an entirely different segment of the Russian population. Far away from the glitter and glamour of Moscow, the world’s most expensive city, we find the impoverished Russians, victims of the ‘tough-as-nails’ capitalism with which Russia made its name immediately after the fall of Communism.

“Rich in humanity and beautifully intimate, there is something epic in this portrait; a palpable sense of endurance on a heart wrenching scale resonates from Hornstra’s work.”
—Claxton Projects, 2010

Specs

Publisher: Self-published, 2008
Softcover: 172pp including 16 fold-outs
Dimensions: 25,5 x 29,5 cm (10 x 11 5/8 in.)
Language: English
Print run: 1,000 copies