Photo series "Russian mephedrone plague" for the publication "Lenta.ru"

I was responsible for developing and implementing the visual style of this project. I contributed as a photographer, art director, and graphic designer.

The social project by Lenta.ru (part of the Rambler&Co media holding), “The Russian Mephedrone Plague,” received the Grand Prix at the Apostol Awards for media and brand media, and won Gold in the “Media” category for best design and publication layout.
https://apostol.media/winners/

Lenta.ru also became a Runet Prize 2024 laureate for the project “The Russian Mephedrone Plague” in the “Mass Media and Communications” category.
https://premiaruneta.ru/news/obyavleny-laureaty-premii-runeta-2024

Project team:

Executive Producer: Vladimir Todorov

Project Lead: Svetlana Povoraznyuk

Art Director: Yulia Vorobyeva

Photography: Yulia Vorobyeva

Graphic Design: Yulia Vorobyeva, Maria Mitina, Eduard Chetverik

Development and Animation: Natalia Gabitova, Anton Kiyan, Nikita Grechishnikov

Viscom by Rambler&Co: Nikolay Chernov, Viktor Kirillov

Music and Sound Design: Forevert

Lenta.ru released an in-depth investigation titled “The Russian Mephedrone Plague,” focusing on how one of the most dangerous drugs is affecting people’s lives and the country’s future. Five years after publishing the investigation “Russia on Drugs,” the authors revisited the topic of illegal substances and the evolution of the darknet, which has undergone radical changes in recent years, leading to the widespread distribution of mephedrone.

The project illustrates how the country has essentially become a testing ground for a new drug that is largely unstudied by modern science. It also reveals how millions of Russians are involved in this deadly experiment.

Over the past year, Lenta.ru journalists spoke with mephedrone users, stashers (drug couriers), clandestine chemists, sellers, and darknet drug shop owners. As a result, they were able to explain how the multibillion-ruble mephedrone market operates, who controls it, and how a global ecosystem has formed around this drug—an ecosystem that traps everyone who enters it.

The investigation project “The Russian Mephedrone Plague” consists of a landing page, eight longreads, and additional content on social media.