Space and Steppe
Baurjan Bismildin is a Kazakh photographer who is passionate about capturing the culture and heritage of his country. Through his photography, he shares compelling stories that focus on people in their natural habitats, while disclosing socio-economic struggles and connection to past generations with an outlook on the future.
With the project Space and Steppe, Bismildin and the team, which consists of the producer Dennis Keen, videographer Alexander Pflaum and fixer Yermek Utemissov, decided to embark on an expedition to the Kazakh Steppe to research the land's role in cosmonaut landings and its impact on locals throughout the years. Together with the team, the viewer witnesses the landing of a capsule and the process that takes place on Earth. The narrative of the project revolves around stories of the people native to the land, emphasizing the authenticity of the current state of the place and bringing attention to socio-economic challenges in their day-to-day lives.
Bismildin speaks about the project and explains, “This was an expedition to central and northern Kazakhstan to film the stories of eyewitnesses of astronaut landings and searching for monuments at these points. During the trip, we talked with locals. Some of them lived very far from populated areas and used rocket fragments in their farms. It was also noted that many monuments were stolen by looters. We decided to try telling this story and maybe find ways to restore them. We were also lucky to witness one of the landings of the capsule from space.”
Photography by Baurjan Bismildin Producer Dennis Keen Videographer Alexander Pflaum Fixer Yermek Utemissov
‘Kazakhstan has played a central role in mankind’s journey to the cosmos, with the first cosmonauts flying to space from the country’s Baikonur Cosmodrome.’
Spaceflight is an important part of Kazakhstan’s modern history. Kazakhstan has played a central role in mankind’s journey to the cosmos, with the first cosmonauts flying to space from the country’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. Kazakhstan’s role as a launching pad to space is fairly well known, but less attention has been given to its special place as Earth’s 'welcome mat' — nearly all cosmonauts who have ever gone to space have landed back on Earth in the Kazakh Steppe. We wanted to explore how these historic cosmonaut landings touched people’s lives in this remote and sparsely-populated part of the world.
‘For some, the day the cosmonauts came to town was a collective achievement they will always remember; for others, their incidental encounter only reminds them of how much they’ve been forgotten.’
In our research, we learned that one of the first space explorers to land in the so-called 'cosmic harbor' was greeted by a village boy on a donkey. Other cosmonauts were met by men on motorcycles who came with hugs and cigarettes. What if we could find these witnesses decades later? We set out to explore the towns and villages of the landing zone, tracing the memory of these historic homecomings. Along the way, we found forgotten monuments to space explorers' past. We witnessed a landing ourselves, escorted by a madcap band of cosmonaut chasers. And we met rural farmers who have had to live with the fallout of fallen rockets and radioactive debris.
Through these encounters between Kazakh communities and cosmonauts, we were interested in exploring the contrasts between memory and commemoration and how history plays out at global, national, and human levels. Cosmonauts were launched from Kazakhstan with the highest ideals, but how did these align with the hopes and struggles of the everyday folk down below? For some, the day the cosmonauts came to town was a collective achievement they will always remember; for others, their incidental encounter only reminds them of how much they’ve been forgotten.
‘I couldn’t help wanting to record everything that happened and all the people we met.’
The most difficult part, oddly enough, was the technical aspect. Since I work with film, I was limited in the number of frames and had to shoot everything very selectively. I couldn’t help wanting to record everything that happened and all the people we met. We weren’t even halfway through our expedition when I’d already used up more than half of my film supplies. That’s a critical moment — you never know how it's going to go from there, whether you've already captured the most important moment or whether it's just the beginning. I had no choice but to rely on my own intuition.
I should also mention the weather conditions. We were in the northern parts of Kazakhstan, and in some places, the snow went up to our eyes. But we had a well-coordinated team, and everywhere we went, we were greeted with great hospitality and hot food, so these things didn’t end up spoiling the process.
It’s hard to pick just one moment, but I was deeply moved by a lonely rocket-shaped monument we found in the middle of the Barren Steppe. We drove tens of kilometers through empty terrain, with nothing but snow stretching to the horizon. This will always be etched into my memory as a kind of 'monument of great loneliness' and also a symbol of the indifference with which the local government treats its citizens.
