'Three separate stories of people variously bruised and uprooted by Russia's never-ending war on small states that are unwilling to comply to its imperial politics, 'Shadows of Empire' is ultimately a story of hope in the face of cruelty of history.' - Michal Oleszczyk How to live in a shadow of an empire? How can you think about the future if all that you see through the window are barbed wires, armoured vehicles and tanks? Aleksey from Nagorno-Karabakh, Timur from Ukraine, and Alexander from Georgia are facing these questions every day. These three men differ in almost every aspect of their lives, but in fact, each of them experiences the same consequences for their very existence. Each one of them experiences war. We observe people involved in the already forgotten border conflicts, that happened after the USSR collapse, and are still alive due to the Russian imperial policy.

Shadows of the Empire

The Volhynian massacre remains a taboo subject for the next generations of Poles and Ukrainians. Karolina’s family spoke about the events in which their relatives were murdered behind a closed door only. To discover the truth about her ancestors, Karolina sets off on a journey to Volhynia.