“Namedni” (Recently), Leonid Parfenov’s project dedicated to recent history, was one of the most successful shows of the 1990s. Eschewing big narrative arcs, the program highlighted the past as a collection of memory sites—in this case, exploring the origins of the “New Russian” in 1991.

Criminal boss Mikhail Kuchin’s gravestone portrait, erected following his 1994 slaying in Shirokorechenskoy Cemetery, featuring the iconic image of keys to his Mercedes.