A few years ago, Markov started taking pictures of his hometown without trying to improve them with various "filters" in an effort to show things as they really were. This quickly attracted people's attention and now Markov has over 30,000 followers on Instagram.
"Two years ago I started an account for my pictures, and I couldn't imagine that it would become one of the most popular projects," Markov wrote on his social media account.
Now with financial support from Instagram and Getty Images, Markov said he'd travel across Russia and do what he does the best — take stunning, real, breathtaking pictures of modern Russia.
"This grant will give me an opportunity to tell more stories and expand the geography of my project," Markov said during an interview with Time Magazine, according to Sostav.ru.
Getty Images said that the grant's objective is to provide support to photographers who help the world to know about places virtually unknown to the rest of the world.
