PRESENTATION: Politics of Filtration

In 2023, the Russian authorities introduced a special border regime for citizens of Ukraine who want to enter the occupied hometowns. Since then, Ukrainians trying to reach Russia, and from there to the occupied territories of Ukraine, have to go through the “filtration” at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. In addition to standard border controls, they are subjected to invasive procedures, including the control and acquisition of biometric and digital data. For many people, this ends with deportation and a ban on entry for 20 or 50 years. The presented project uses the written word, animation and zines to examine state surveillance practices and coping with life under occupation. In a performative lecture, researchers Ksenia Rybak and Daria Hetmanova will connect the interrogation rooms at the airport with the wider filtration network, Mariupol and its residents. They will present video work created with space researcher and architect Natasha Pereverzina and research findings published in a zine prepared with artist and graphic designer Stefania Bodnia.