Karosta: Life After the USSR (2008) - full transcript

[in Russian] Karosta is criminal area.

I know that terrible things happens
when it gets dark.

That is what I have heard.

There are lots of bad people living there.

There are many assaults
that have happened there.

Slovenliness, houses left unattended.

I saw every day, how people enter the shop

and always came out
with alcohol in their hand.

It did not matter young or older,
always with alcohol.

Now it is ruined, nobody cares
for it at the same time.

There is people still living there.
That is the saddest thing.



Gloomy, black, the dark side of Liepaja.

You can see houses with graffiti,
blood and broken bottles

it testifies that something
happened there.

[poignant music playing]

[wind whistles]

[poignant music continues]

[man, in English]
People think that we are monsters,

I just can't explain why.

They are wrong, this I know,
they are wrong.

[poignant music continues]

The city lose 25 thousand inhabitants

and of course,
all of the 25,000 inhabitants

were spending life in Karosta.

Uh, they lived in Karosta,
they use all infrastructure for Karosta,



in one day we lose everything.

[in Russian] The base was actually built

by Alexander the Third.

[waves crashing]

[woman, in English] Karosta was made

at the end of 19th
and beginning of 20th century.

Fifty kilometers from here, from Liepaja,
there is a border with Lithuania.

And Lithuania belonged to Germany.

Uh, this part belonged to Tsar of Russia,
and he was preparing to war with Germans.

So he needed very strong protection
somewhere here, close to the border.

[in Russian] You can only get here

from two sides

by using the bridge

or by driving around.

There were posts

with barriers

and you could only get through

with valid documents.

[melancholic music playing]

[Vasilis, in Russian] There was a military
barrack built

along with military hospital

and officers' assembly.

Then, the Tsar

had the Eastern Bridge built.

In order to get it built, he managed

to get people from France.

The same people that built

the Eiffel tower.

[in English] During the soviet time, that
area was closed for civil persons.

There lived just military persons
and their families.

And Karosta, from the beginning,

it was made
as absolutely independent town,

small town from Liepaja town.

[Vasilis, in Russian] Behind the bridge,

where nowadays

the diving base is located,

there were concrete bunkers built

where missiles were kept
and could possibly

be intended for the west.

Normal life was when
there was a Soviet power.

If something was wrong,
you could always ask for assistance.

[melancholic music playing]

[melancholic music continues]

[man, in Russian] And it was done.

Nowadays, you have no one, no one to ask.

Because nobody decides anything.

There used to be a concrete square.

An orchestra was there

and lots of citizens came.

All the people were crying in the streets

as the army was leaving.

It was after the collapse
of the Soviet Union.

Military forces were here,

and they started getting relocated.

It was when Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania

gained their independence.

It was after Gorbachev
and later Yeltsin said,

"Take as much sovereignty
as you can digest!"

[birds squawking]

[Vasilis] Civilians who lived in Karosta
that worked

for the military as well
as the military themselves

had to settle down somewhere else

and they had to leave their houses.

They even left their furniture

and belongings behind.

Other people could and freely live
in their apartments.

[in English]
It was a possibility for them also to see

what has been hidden there for 100 years.

And they entered that area,

and if somebody saw that this house
has more beautiful door than I have,

then why shouldn't I take it.

They took even baths,
and sometimes doors and windows

and everything
that they could take off this flat.

That was the time
when the area was destroyed.

It was told for people here
in the city center

that it's dangerous when it gets dark,
it's dangerous to go there,

because there are Russians
and they will ask you questions,

"Why are you here and what you are doing?"
and so on. It was bit dangerous.

Uh, they celebrated Russian festivals
and everything that involved

military celebrations and some parades
and everything like that.

Birthday of the Tsar of Russia and so on.

But they didn't celebrate much
of Latvian festivals.

Um, and the reason might be the one that

those people
were from different parts of Russia,

and the language
that they were communicating,

using for communication,
it was Russian language.

[in Russian] They were hoping

that Latvian people would move in

but the Latvians refused to move in
and said,

"We own it at the moment,

but the Russian army will be back

and they'll repossess everything
once again!"

[in English]
All my family live only in this room

because it was Soviet Union
and we have neighbors right next door,

not like next door, but next room,
and they have again family.

And another small family,
live in the small room.

And we have one kitchen for everyone
and one bathroom and one toilet.

So, it was hard time,

but only because I was child,
for me, it was like,

"Wow, so good, I have so many friends,
so big family,

so good to live in here."

When we moved, I thought,

"Oh, it's like a pit-stop
that flat in Karosta."

But it wasn't. It was my new home.
Now, it's my home.

I don't know the reason.

It just was like a letter
from the council, like,

"Sorry, but you should empty this place."

I feel now,
like they steal something from me.

They steal my home,

and, uh, it's not so good,
it's not a good feeling.

[man] Taxi drivers
wouldn't drive you out here.

I mean, they said, "No, no,
we don't bring you out there."

[in Russian]
I do know that once an ambulance

refused to go to Karosta
to help a little baby,

and this situation was only resolved

when a call to the chief city doctor
was made.

If you are able to survive it,
you'll live, if you aren't, just die.

[in English] I live in here for 15 years
and it's not really so bad place,

I mean, I like this place, it's my home.

It looks not so good,
but it's still good from inside.

I remember the building before.
It was like yellow color,

and it was bright, and, uh,

I don't remember actually,
green or blue balconies,

so it was beauty,
and now, it's more like grey.

[man] Nobody took care of it.

So, it became this, kind of,
absolutely lawless territory.

And there was no police,
there was no army,

there was no nothing. And--

And, uh, most of it was just demolished
and, and robbed.

[in Russian] There are Russians,

alcoholics, drug addicts
and tramps living in the town.

But tell me please, who am I then?

All these things are created
by the guys at the top, in Riga,

sitting in Latvian government.
That's who is responsible.

The government is making the water murky.

The people are just people,
normal people, normal nation.

All these problems come from the top.

[in English] The city council
started to make a number of decisions.

What to do with the buildings in Karosta?

And one of the options was also
to have some partner organizations

to support us in this particular business.

We asked private sector
to participate in the renovation

and also to rent those buildings
from the city.

Uh, but unfortunately also private sector
was quite poor at this period of time.

[woman, in Russian] From an ordinary
person's point of view it looked like

everything was left abandoned
and had started to fall apart.

I was under the impression

that it would be the last place
to be fixed

if it ever gets fixed.

[Carl, in English] I remember
when I was here the first times,

in the area here was several metal points

where you could give metal
and get money for it, yeah.

All of them was open 24 hours a night.

Several not one, two, three
but like four, five, six in the area.

So, people just took things, sell it.

So, this place was robbed,
in a very, very short time.

And so, this legend about
when the Soviet army left,

everything was demolished.

It's not true.
It was left in quite good condition,

and then the robbery,
and, and the lawlessness,

that happened a year, year
and a half after that.

And then it continued
and still continues in some senses.

[in Russian] But who would go
and rob an old woman?

There is nothing to steal from me.

They know very well who's got money,
gold or dollars.

And what have we got? Church pennies.

The people relocated to the base

were having trouble paying
their rent previously.

Very often, people from deprived families

or people with alcohol problems
or something.

And, of course,
it doesn't make our town better.

I've moved here recently, two years ago.
I was given a council flat here.

It makes me upset to read in newspapers
that Karosta is the rabble of the city.

How can we understand this?

Lots of people were sent here

because they had no money
to pay their bills.

But they are same people that we are

who have to pay their bills
and clothe their children.

[in English] From Liepaja City,

city people, they have always looked upon
Karosta as something alien,

something apart, yeah.
And then, all of a sudden it's not.

All of a sudden, it's actually no more
this uh, [in Russian] barrier,

this, uh, closed area.

So, you can go here. Well, now, you can't.

But, so they--

If you go to the mental mind of people,
then, that has been growing in

from, from, from generation to generation

that there is Liepaja
and there is Karosta.

That's two different things.

And from 1994, all of a sudden… [claps]
…it's an open area again.

Maybe they are from good part of the city,
I mean, city center,

maybe their parents have good cars
and, uh, good job,

but I don't think that they are different.

They also smoke cigarettes
in ten years somewhere, I don't know.

I did it in the forest or on the beach.

But maybe they have some, I don't know,

underground place or something like this,
so, where they can hide.

But I don't think so,
but I know that we are the same,

but they think only because
I am from Karosta,

I am not the same like, like them.

[birds chirping]

When I was child

me and my friends,
we always like, uh, hide in that place.

And, uh, it was funny,

we had some, uh,
favorite places in there.

I remember some room,
it was like, like no others.

And, uh, we always smoked in there.

And, uh, it was like our,

our own place, and nobody knew about it.

We thought like that, but people
could visit any time they want, so…

When I was about eight or nine
or maybe even seven,

I went to the shop
and asked for one bottle vodka,

for example, just for fun.

And,uh, it wasn't a problem to get it.

Just, I said like,

"This is from-from-for my dad."

And, yeah, "Why not? Take it?" [scoffs]
It was easy.

I remember this place
when I was too young about,

I'm not sure actually.

I found, in here,
a lot of beautiful wood pieces.

It's looks like wood pieces, in there,

but it was like this with holes
inside and different sizes, yeah.

I collect them in the one bag.

I thought that I can give all these
as a present to my mum.

When I went home I met a women,
and she told me, "What are you doing?"

"What is in your bag?"

And I said, "It's, uh, wood pieces."

And she told me, "This is, uh, bones,
human bones."

So, after that,
I went back and put all of them

back near the sea on the beach,
right on the stones.

It was-It was a shock for me,
but not for a long time.

I just remember the day
when I had a full bag of human bones.

[in Russian]
Just outside the military base,

there is a place

where prisoners of the Germans…

were executed.

It is actually mentioned

in written history

that the captured soldiers
and Jews were shot here.

I have been there, and we took photos.

[in English] This place is beautiful,
not because of bones.

I like this place
since I was too young to speak.

I can swim in here, I can dream in here,
I can sleep in here.

Maybe not in winter time,
but in summer, easy.

Why not? Just for relaxing,
me and nature, nothing else.

[man] People just know that this part
of the city is like end of the city.

So, maybe they found this place
like a good place

for killing or to try to leave the body.

Why? I just don't know why.

But I remember a lot of stories

when somebody was found somewhere,

like in the empty house,

uh, or right, uh, behind the pub

or in some empty, or even not empty flat

or somewhere else. So, it's like,

it's like normal here.

[wind howling]

Maybe somebody killed somebody
for some reason.

He knows that this body will be found,

but he would do it like special,
I will go and put it in Karosta

because it's the place
where the bodies were found

not once, not twice, not even ten times.

[dogs barking]

[man] The people think bad about Karosta

only because they remember the time
when Karosta was like, a place where…

where people who don't pay their bills

or I don't know why, had problems
with uh, living in town

and they must be, like, moved here.

So, it was the beginning
when the people start thinking

that Karosta is not so good
for living and for like

uh, Karosta is not so safe.

They must try it from inside.

Try all this life from inside,
not like, uh, they can see.

Like, all these grey buildings
or empty houses or abandoned houses.

No, I mean,

maybe they need just one chance
to try it, to be like us,

to live in this place,

to buy something in our shops,
to wear our, uh, clothes.

So, we are same.

[indistinct chattering]

We don't need a hero,

we need a good man and a lot of hands.

In Liepaja, people call him Karle.
He's from Sweden and he came here.

He is artist himself.

And he was so impressed about
the things that he saw in this area.

Uh, he made this K@2 organization.

And they are also--

They own few of the buildings
from Tsars' time.

They have made art gallery,
contemporary art gallery K@2.

Like, uh, they had so wide program.

Uh, so many projects, like, uh,

learning Latvian for free
for Russian people or kids' room

or some, I don't know, workshops,

or celebration

of some holidays, like, together.

So, they have so many
for people from Karosta.

Still have.

They, uh, play a really big part
in our lives.

The meaning of K@2,
it has two meanings, yeah.

It's, uh,
because it's the name of this house,

it's Katedrales Street number 2,
so it's K@2. It's very simple.

But also, in Latvian, legs is kājas.

So, to walk by foot, in Latvian,
you say K2, you walk by K2, yeah.

So, that is walking by foot.
And that's what we did in the beginning.

We had no funding, nothing.
So, we just walked around

tried to make some deals.

So, that's one.
And then, if you use this leg thing,

I think that K@2 is standing on two legs,
one is extremely local,

like, even so local that it's not Liepaja.

It's, it's a Karostan leg, yeah, but the
other leg, I think, is very international.

It's, uh--

It's-you can take this leg to Europe
or to North America

or to Australia or-or-or South Africa,

wherever you need,
or to Moscow, no problem.

Because, um,
since we who started this out,

we come from film documentary background,

and we're travelling quite a lot,
with a big network

of all kind of creative artists
from all over the world,

not to exaggerate at all.

So, bringing in here good artists, um,
high professionals,

wasn't, wasn't any problem in the
beginning and it's even easier today,

and, um, so that's the international leg.

So, I think K@2 stands for joint venture
between extremely local

and, and, and very global, yeah.

It's something that matches good together.

[electronic music playing]

[electronic music continues playing]

-[fireworks exploding]
-[crowd cheering]

[electronic music continues playing]

[music stops]

[melancholic music playing]

K@2 came to the city with proposal,

"Could you rent us those buildings
for a very symbolic price?"

At that period of time, of course,
city council made the decision,

"Yes, we are willing to rent."

And for example, today, they are paying,
one, uh, one pound for a year

just to rent these properties.

Therefore, this was only one way
how to protect existing buildings.

Now, we have a master plan,
we do have that.

And I think,
it's a very logical master plan, that, uh,

there is a center where you can live
and where you can eat.

And you can call it either a hotel
or a hostel or whatever. But,

one unit where there is eating,
sleeping, like a headquarter, yeah.

And then there is one unit
that is for education,

and then one unit which is
exhibition hall or conference center

where the students that are being taught,
they can also show their works.

And now, you see it on the scale

that maybe it's like this
that there is 15 students

making a small exhibitions,

but what we see
in our master plan is that,

in some years from now
there is 80 or 100 students

that make several exhibitions
in the big house.

It's the same thing,
it's just we're growing organically.

[man, in Russian] Good evening, once more!

It is a pleasure for us,
as the artists of new media

to see you in such large numbers.

Thank you for showing interest
in our first common exhibition.

We ask you to give your critical feedback,

warm yourselves
with mulled wine and herb tea.

Enjoy, the exhibition is open!

[in English]
I remember when I first went to K@2,

it was so happy for me.

Like wow,
this is really good center for kids.

Because they have a kids' room in there.

We had like, uh, chance
to use Internet for free

and PC computer,

one of the first ones, like, uh,
Pentium One or something like this.

And, uh, they have some games

or playing stuff, like, for children.

It was so happy for me
just found this place.

Like, uh,

not second home, no, but like a kid dream.

I remember one very positive feeling
that I got from the local community

was when we started to put in this,
what do you call,

central heating system in this house.

And then, you started to feel a rumor
that you got a positive response

from the locals, "Oh, they are serious,
because you don't put in so big money

and so no big effort into a building
if they don't continue to stay."

I don't think, but I know
but when we started out here,

everybody said that, "No. No use,

if they are so stupid let them do it,"
and so on.

And I know that in those days,

we were looked up on
like, "Okay, artists coming in,

maybe they'll paint some of the windows
in pink color in for one summer,

and paint some graffiti on some walls,
and then they will disappear."

I mean, this was the attitude.

But then, step by step,

real results, renovations,
international events, uh,

publications, some kind of rumors,
some, some of kind of vibrations.

And so, and then,
in the period from 2003, '04, '05, '06,

then was like,
"Oh, something is happening,"

and then the bridge went away.

Then, all of a sudden, all these hopes,
kind of, they shattered in some sense.

One of our mates came to us and said,

"Hey, lads, have you seen
what's happened with the bridge?"

And we said, "No, what happened?"

And he said like,
"You should go and watch it."

And it was so fucking terrible,
because no more bridge.

It's really, really bad
for Karosta people.

I think that bridge destruction
was made by city council,

especially, because we had, uh, a lot news

that, uh, city council
want to close the bridge.

But because of people they can't,
because people every day,

all the time, using this bridge.

So, they just can't do that.

And they find a way.

They took a tanker, empty one,

when it leave the port,

uh, it just go to the bridge
and destroy it.

Just like this.

So, it's the end of the story.
I mean, they did what they want.

The bridge is closed.

It's easy.

I think, it's clever.

Clever for them, not for us.

[wind howling]

This comment I heard approximately
12 minutes after the bridge went away,

it was not--Okay, 13 minutes but not more.

Um,

it was a telephone call
because I didn't see the accident.

Uh, but our bookkeeper saw it and
she told me to go down and have a look

because she thought something
was wrong with the bridge.

And I went down and I saw it… [chuckles]
…and when I was standing looking at this,

my mobile telephone is ringing
and a friend of mine said,

[whispers] "It's fixed."

Previous year, we started,
uh, search for funding

and with national government,
we find resources

to renovate this bridge.

And we are planning in this year
to finish this particular project.

It means the bridge, uh, will be
historically, um, designed

like it was, but of course,
with new, uh, technical equipment.

[Carl] Just yesterday or two days ago,
I read on the web

that the bridge should be
up and running by the end of this year,

which I can't believe,

but if it's written
then let's hope for it.

And that means that there will be
a connection again

and then we can keep on working.

But right now,
there is not a good connection,

not on this level,
not on this level, or not on any level.

Actually, it's a big chaos right now.

[footsteps approaching]

[children chattering indistinctly]

[in Russian]
There are changes for bad, not for better.

Why can't they make footpaths?

Why can't they put up streetlights?

There are no benches
for people to sit and rest.

As you can see, absolutely nothing.

The bills are getting worse.

They demand money for everything.

Gas, water, electricity,
soon they will demand payment for the air.

[poignant music playing]

[in English] Of course, uh,

we are not ready in one day
to take down old buildings

which were also are built
during the Soviet time.

Uh, but step by step,

I think this particular, uh,
block housing area will be redeveloped.

And therefore, usually,
with potential investors,

I'm visiting Karosta myself.

Uh, but, of course,
we need a little bit more time

to make the changes.

Uh, of course, there is always question

maybe the best way is to say like it is.

Because if there will be
number of changes,

then the Karostans
will also lose something.

Uh, therefore, in fact, it's a very hard
decision making process also

for politicians, uh,
which direction to choose.

We have number of projects
which is under development.

For example a swimming pool,
uh, which will be built

and partly used by, uh, Latvian Navy

and also partly by inhabitants
of Liepaja City.

[man] I heard about the swimming pool

about five or maybe
or even more years ago.

Maybe they will,
I mean, they will build swimming pool

and makes, like, dream come true, but

something tell me from inside

that it will be,
like, not for people from Karosta.

If it will be, like, so good and so new,
it will be expensive.

Karosta's people can visit
this place maybe once.

So…

[bell tolls]

I think, people who live in Karosta
like me,

start thinking, like, now we have
some respect between us,

between me and my neighbors
and the other people because,

uh, because we living like,

and, uh, close eyes on all this talking,

like Karosta is not so good, and, uh,

we close eyes on all these people

which have real problems
with alcohol or drug using.

So, yeah, it starts, like, with respect.

Everyday life is full of contrast, really,

positive and negative, black and white.

For any creative person, I think
it's, it's a must to have the contrast.

And Karosta is full of contrast.

[poignant music playing]

My favorite thing in Karosta,
I think, it's military prison

because that was one of the first things
that I knew and that I saw in Karosta.

[in Russian] I like this place
because the sea is not far.

I swim there.

The air is clean and good.

Because this is a kind of paradise.
The sea is nearby.

Life here is good. It's not bad at all.

[in English]
It's still my Karosta. It's still my home.

It's still the place
where I like to spend my life.

[in Russian]
It is still a very green place.

No factories,
the environment is relatively clean.

And the fact that I'm used to it,

people get used to anything even to this.

[in English]
I can close my eyes for a moment

and, uh, see, like, another life
in Karosta.

Another life,
not for me, but for all people here.

And, uh, it's really, like, a happy life.

Without problems, not without problems,
everywhere is problems,

not because of living area.

But like, uh…

without all these bad stories,
without all these, uh, wrong opinions.

without all these abandoned houses.

And, uh, with good future

and with sunny days.

[Vasilis, in Russian] You know what?

I like this place very much!

Clean air,

calm environment, close to the sea.

I like jogging, swimming in the winter

in October and November.

Of course, not when the show is down.

Once, I was running along the seaside

and a women stopped me.

She knows me as I have taken
a few pictures of her

and she asked, "Are you still alive?"

"In school number seven,
everybody thinks you're dead!"

Those were my competitors
telling people lies.

[man, in English] For somebody, like
for me, Karosta is home for whole life.

I know that this place is so beautiful,

but now it's like have dirty face.

And somebody can help
to wash this dirty face.

[poignant music playing]

[music stops]