MOST



MOST
The bridge
Narva-Ivangorod


2009
8 min. 13
music from: „tribute to sun ra“ francois robert lloyd & gregoire garrigues

The bridge “Friendship” on the Narva river marks the border between Europe (the Estonian city of Narva) and Russia (the city of Ivangorod). In the aftermath of the collapse of the Russian Empire, the newly independent Republic of Estonia gained control over the whole town of Narva, including Ivangorod, in January 1919, and it was subsequently recognized by Soviet Russia in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu. Having reoccupied Estonia during World War II in 1944, the Soviet authorities separated Ivangorod administratively from the rest of Narva, and transferred the territory to the Leningrad Oblast of the Russian SFSR in January 1945. Ivangorod received the status of town in 1954.

Until 1991, Narva and Ivangorod lived one life despite being located in different Soviet republics.
Many residents of Ivangorod worked in Narva, and vice versa. The local economy was so intertwined that some enterprises provided their staff with apartments on the other side of the river - a phenomenon that would later lead to the separation of many families.
The bridge is crossed daily by inhabitants of Narva or Ivangorod, who go shopping in Russia where goods are cheaper and use the border situation to make some money by crossing with commodities.

Economic ties between the two cities were cut when the international border appeared along the Narva River. After Estonia regained independence in 1991, the border as per 1920 Treaty of Tartu was considered by Russia legally superseded by an administrative border between two former Soviet republics drawn later by the Soviet authorities. Ivangorod thus remained a part of Russia. Due to political tensions, a new border treaty between Estonia and Russia has not yet come into force. On the edge of Europe, this zone is a strong border with a severe visa policy though it is also a bridge between two parts of one city.

I filmed people crossing the bridge, they were on the other side of the fence, it was an unbearable sensation of how easily a harsh geopolitical situation can dictate everyday moves.
Until 1991, Narva and Ivangorod lived one life despite being located in different Soviet republics. Many residents of Ivangorod worked in Narva, and vice versa. The local economy was so intertwined that some enterprises provided their staff with apartments on the other side of the river - a phenomenon that would later lead to the separation of many families.
Economic ties between the two cities were cut when the international border appeared along the Narva River. After Estonia regained independence in 1991, the border as per 1920 Treaty of Tartu was considered by Russia legally superseded by an administrative border between two former Soviet republics drawn later by the Soviet authorities. Ivangorod thus remained a part of Russia. Due to political tensions, a new border treaty between Estonia and Russia has not yet come into force.

I filmed people crossing the bridge, they were on the other side of the fence, it was an unbearable sensation of how easily a harsh geopolitical situation can dictate everyday moves.