The game, developed by social artist Olga Zhuklina, ADC "Memorial" expert Andrey Yakimov, and designer Olga Krokhicheva, allows participants to imagine themselves as workers from Central Asia heading to Russia to earn a living. To reach the finish line more quickly, safely, and effectively, players have to solve numerous challenges and be prepared for the dangers and hardships that any migrant might face.

The game serves both as a work of contemporary art, providing observers with an interactive way to engage with the issue of labor migration in Russia, and as a historical document, offering insight into the everyday lives of millions of foreign workers in St. Petersburg.

The project is actively exposed to the art context and used to practic purposes. Repeatedly conducted trainings on the game, including in the educational program '"Manifesty'10".

"Russia, The Land of Opportunity' board game is a means of talking about the possible ways that the destinies of the millions of immigrants who come annually to the Russian Federation from the former Soviet Central Asian republics to earn money play out.

Our goal is to give players the chance to live in the shoes of a foreign worker, to feel all the risks and opportunities, to understand the play between luck and personal responsibility, and thus answer the accusatory questions often addressed to immigrants – for example, “Why do they work illegally? Why do they agree to such conditions?”

On the other hand, only by describing the labyrinth of rules, deceptions, bureaucratic obstacles and traps that constitute labor migration in today’s Russia can we get an overall picture of how one can operate within this scheme and what in it needs to be changed. We would like most of all for this game to serve as a historical document."

Olga Zhitlina

• For :Anti-Discrimination Center Memorial
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  ADC Memorial