I’m mostly interested in everyday incongruity and Russia remains great for that. You never really know what you’ll stumble across: this was shot when I was exiting the metro doing my Christmas shopping.

This shot was taken in the mid-1990s. The wonderfully tatty, malfunctioning phones have been replaced by boring, shiny new ones that remain mostly unused since all Russians now have at least a dozen cell-phones.

And Ded Moroz [Father Frost] is rather down-market, reduced to touting his gold and jewellery repairs. These days I’d expect to see him advertising something much fancier, or perhaps just lounging by his Mercedes surrounded by bodyguards.

Jeremy Nicholl bought his first camera when aged 8, and has been a professional photographer since 1981. Since 1990 he has specialised in Russia and the CIS, travelling extensively throughout the former Soviet Union. His work has appeared in numerous publications and exhibitions worldwide.

Photographer since 1981, EPUK member since 1999.

See more work by Jeremy Nicholl