Dmitry Markov (photographer)
Dmitry Markov (Dmitry Aleksandrovich Markov) was a Russian journalist and photographer born on April 23, 1982, in Pushkino. He became famous for his plain, powerful photos of life in provincial Russia, mostly taken with his smartphone and shared on Instagram.
Early life and turning point
Markov grew up in Pskov after moving there as a child. He studied in an engineering college and got his first camera during this time. He later learned photography from Alexander Lapin. In 2005 he was invited to photograph at an orphanage, which sparked his interest in volunteering. He moved with this mission to Porkhov. He struggled with drug addiction but had overcome it by 2007 and then worked with the Rostok charity, helping orphans and teens in various institutions, while also tutoring in a children’s village.
Career in media and photography
Originally, Markov worked as a photographer and journalist for Argumenty i Fakty, and later for Takie Dela and Meduza. In 2013 he joined David Alan Harvey’s Burn Diary project and adopted its approach for his own work: shoot with his phone and post what he photographed that day.
Recognition and projects
- 2015: Received a grant from Getty Images and Instagram for documentary photography.
- 2016: Became the first Russian to participate in Apple’s iPhone “Taken on the iPhone” campaign.
- 2017: Published his first photo book, #Chernovik.
- 2018: Solo exhibition in Moscow at Fotodoc Center; a show in Paris during Paris Photo under patronage of agnès b.; participated in the HOPE exhibition in France.
- 2019: Vienna Paris Photo presenting his work with agnès b., Claudine Doury and Ched Mur; solo exhibition #Draft #Russia in Genoa; second book, CUT OFF, published by IIKKI Books; solo show at the agnès b. gallery in New York.
- 2019: Appeared in Kirill Serebrennikov’s film Petrov’s Flu.
Media and later work
From 2020 to 2021 he co-hosted a YouTube project called Anti-Travel on the Редакция channel, exploring places in Russia that aren’t typical tourist destinations. In 2021, the Gogol Center hosted a solo exhibition titled Russia squared, which also featured the latest edition of his book #Chernovik.
Style and themes
Markov documented everyday life across Russia, often focusing on people on the margins—disabled people, orphans, prisoners, and rural residents. Critics sometimes said his work “denigrated” Russian reality, but he explained that he aimed to reveal the realities of less well-off people, not to mock them. His photos often looked staged, like a theatre set, and he frequently used a smartphone camera for his compositions.
Notable moment
One of his most talked-about images showed a security officer in a vest and balaclava beneath a Putin portrait. The photo went viral and a signed print sold at a charity auction for 2 million rubles to support detainees of political protests.
Death and legacy
Markov died in February 2024 in Pskov at about age 41; reports say he died from a methadone overdose. His body was found on February 16, and the grave marker notes February 15 as the date of death. He is buried in Novo-Derevenskoye cemetery in Pushkino, near Moscow.
His legacy continues in institutions named after him. In 2024, a rehabilitation center for drug-dependent teenagers was opened in Nizhny Novgorod in his honor, and artist Dmitry Vrubel created a virtual museum that includes a department named for Markov.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:17 (CET).