Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Photographed by Marylise Vigneau
World War II veteran Acek Urmanbetov, 98, is recovering from Covid. Acek is reluctant to talk about the war he was sent to at 18. But he vividly remembers everything, the leg he lost in Belarus, the people he shot, the dead rotting in the trenches. The shadow of war and its traumas accompanied him throughout a life he spent as a controller of the agriculture section of Issyk Kul. He always wanted to write a book and did at 75. The book defends the women who, after the fall of the USSR, had to raise their children alone while their husbands left to work in Russia and often never came back. He considers the publication of this book the achievement of his life. He donated the money generated by its sale to impoverished families and invalid people.
- Award
- Honourable mention, One Frame
- Competition
- Shoot The Frame Annual Portrait Awards 2025
- Photographer
- Marylise Vigneau · Photographer page
