In 2015, the Russian government launched a program of “patriotic education”, as a result of which thousands of children now take up arms every day. Across the country, numerous patriotic centers and clubs have sprung up, constructing a simulated reality complete with training equipment, mannequins, props, and posters warning about an imaginary threat. It is in these spaces that state ideology and ordinary life come into contact. In the small towns where I was filming, teenagers join these clubs simply to hang out and out of boredom, but in reality they are being taught how to kill. 
 

During rifle shooting classes, I took portraits of teenagers. I was interested in the moment of interaction between a teenager and a weapon. How does he hold it? Where does he point it? Does he feel confident or awkward? And what do I — and the viewer — sense in this encounter: confusion and anxiety at the thought that any weapon can go off unpredictably sooner or later, or a sense of safety instead?