P: Jantar

Tomasz Böhm

Bachelor's thesis

P: Amber

Abstract:

Jantarnyj je malé přímořské městečko ležící v regionu Kaliningrad (Rusko). Jeho non-náhodné jméno pochází z ruského slova jantar, nebo jantar. Zde se nachází více než 95% žlutých zdrojů na světě kámen, a místo samotné se stalo hlavním městem těžby této rudy. Většina obyvatel pracuje v místním lomu, ze kterého byli vyvedeni existuje síť obřích trubek, které vypouštějí odpadní vody a odpady, které místní degradují příroda na pláži. Několik kilometrů dlouhá přímořská krajina je zničena touha po zisku a nekompromisní těžba jantarových ložisek.

Abstract:

Yantarnyj () is a small seaside town located in the Kaliningrad region (Russia). The name originates from the Russian word yantar, that is amber. It is here that over 95% of the world's yellow stone resources are located, and the place itself has become the capital of the extraction of this precious metal. Most of the residents work in a local quarry, from which a net of huge pipes is led out to dispose of wastewater and waste that degrades the local nature on the beach. The coastal landscape, which is several kilometers long, is destroyed by the desire for profit and the uncompromising extraction of amber deposits. The controversial business offers opportunities for illegal amber fishermen to profit from. These are divided into divers, workers using waste/waste from the state-owned conglomerate, miners digging huge pits of several meters in the forests and ordinary beach prospectors. The entire community of amber seekers is centred around the local mafia, which, like the state factories, operates on the world amber market. Every day, somewhere in the valleys of this sandy landscape, there are silhouettes of people who gather around large metal pipes on the beach, bringing out their local "bloody diamond", which amber became after the collapse of the Soviet Union, bringing fortune, bankruptcy or death to countless collectors, craftsmen, retailers and intermediaries.

Keywords

jantar, rusko, pláž, horníci, moře, žlutý kámen, amber, russia, beach, miners, sea, baltic, yellow stone

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 21. 10. 2020

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 4. 9. 2019
• Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Vladimír Birgus
• Reader: prof. Mgr. Jindřich Štreit

Silesian University in Opava

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava

Bachelor programme / field:
Film, Television and Photographic Art and New Media / Creative Photography