Strelka

Sports, first prize stories

July 23, 2011

Saint Petersburg, Russia A strelka tournament in the backyard of the abandoned Krasnoye Znamya factory in Saint Petersburg. At the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, strelka meant a meeting of gangsters—the sort that often ended in a scuffle. Today, strelka refers to an amateur street-fighting tournament and is becoming popular with people from all walks of life. Contestants fight on sand, without a time limit. Only a knockout or surrender stops the fight.

Photo Credit: Alexander Taran

Alexander Taran was born in 1983. In 1999, he entered the photo studio Siluet at the Youth Creative Palace where had studied for four years under the direction of educator and photographer German Pavlov. In 2005, Taran graduated from the journalism department of the St. Petersburg State University. The same year, he began working for the photo agency Interpress. As an Interpress photographer, Taran  worked for Agence France-Presse covering news and sports events. During these years, his photographs were published in the leading Russian media as well as Newsweek, USA Today, Men’s Health, SportWeek, Foto&Video and BusinessWeek. Taran is now focused mostly on sport features and traditional black and white photography.