Russian Photographer Wins Leica Award for Series on Dagestan
Russian photographer Damir Faizulin has won the 2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award for a series documenting how tourism and development are reshaping life in the mountains of Dagestan.
Faizulin first visited Dagestan as a tourist in 2020. Sensing that the region was on the brink of rapid change, he moved there in 2021 to document its transformation.
His winning project, “Preserving Nature as Preserving Ourselves,” captures the North Caucasus republic’s natural beauty alongside threats to its landscapes and traditional livelihoods.
“It’s important to me that a photograph does not simplify reality, but rather helps us recognize its complexity,” he said.
The award, presented in Wetzlar, Germany, on Oct. 8, carries a prize of 40,000 euros and Leica camera equipment worth 10,000 euros. Established in 1980, it recognizes photographic series exploring the relationship between people and their environment.
Faizulin first visited Dagestan as a tourist in 2020. Sensing that the region was on the brink of rapid change, he moved there in 2021 to document its transformation.
His winning project, “Preserving Nature as Preserving Ourselves,” captures the North Caucasus republic’s natural beauty alongside threats to its landscapes and traditional livelihoods.
“It’s important to me that a photograph does not simplify reality, but rather helps us recognize its complexity,” he said.
The award, presented in Wetzlar, Germany, on Oct. 8, carries a prize of 40,000 euros and Leica camera equipment worth 10,000 euros. Established in 1980, it recognizes photographic series exploring the relationship between people and their environment.
A meeting of different epochs: a cow and the Soviet ekranoplan Lun, Derbent, June 2021.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
Spring: the sheep’s first grazing season in the mountains, Khunzakh, May 2024.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
A boy holding a newborn calf in his arms, July 2025.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
After a rain shower, the construction site of a shopping center becomes a swimming spot, Makhachkala, June 2023.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
A boy harvesting kaki plums, Samur, October 2025.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
A woman trying to transport the harvest, Chokh, June 2025.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
In the local house of culture in the village of Megeb: a portrait of Vladimir Lenin has been covered with contemporary images, October 2021.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
Women watching the sunset over the abandoned village of Gamsutl, June 2021.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
Fresh fish: an image at the market in Makhachkala, October 2020.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
Damir Faizulin.
Damir Faizulin / leica_camera / Instagram
