Russian Tuberculosis Survivors Fight Stigma

While tuberculosis is seen in many countries as an illness from a long-gone era, it remains an acute problem in Russia. According to World Health Organization statistics, 79,000 people in Russia contracted tuberculosis, or TB, in 2018.

Paulina Siniatkina, a visual artist in Moscow, is a survivor of TB. She contracted it when she was 25 years old and saw several of her friends die of TB while she was hospitalized for six months.

Outraged by the situation, Paulina took to her brushes to denounce the stigmas surrounding people with TB, and which she says are responsible for the disease’s continued existence in Russia.

After a first exhibition dedicated to the subject in 2016, she is preparing a new exhibition entitled “You don’t want to know this” to show people what living with TB is truly like.