1991

Lada Car Factory, Togliatti, Russia

Brazilian, born 1944

Although many of Salgado's photographs draw attention to negative aspects of modern work such as disappearing forms of traditional labor and substandard working conditions, he also portrays instances of social cohesion in laborers' lives. In 1991, Salgado photographed the work and leisure activities of employees at the Lada car factory, an industrial giant in Togliatti, Russia, that employs more than 100,000 people. Just one year after the Soviet government had granted freedom of religion to its citizens, the Lada workers shown here gather with their families to participate in a group baptism, poignantly echoing the figures depicted in the mural behind them.