Leica Removes Russian Photographer From Oskar Barnack Award

Leica has eliminated one of many 12 shortlisted finalists for the 2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), one of the prestigious pictures prizes on the earth, PetaPixel can solely reveal.

Russian photographer Valery Melnikov was shortlisted for the forty sixth LOBA for his work titled Mariupol: Open Wounds, which focuses on how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine devastated the town of Mariupol and its individuals.

LOBA’s description says that Melnikov’s “ongoing documentary project focuses on residents who have remained in the city and suffer the unbearable humanitarian consequences of the war.”

But critics say that Melnikov’s work fails to acknowledge Russia’s duty for the destruction of Mariupol, nor does it point out that Russia continues to occupy the town.

Ukrainian photographer Serhii Korovainyi, who covers the battle, condemned LOBA’s determination to incorporate Melnikov on its shortlist.

In a Facebook post on July 9, Korovainyi says Mariupol: Open Wounds was included “without providing any context regarding who killed tens of thousands of civilians in the city, who destroyed it, or who inflicted those wounds.”

The Kyiv Independent known as Melnikov a “Kremlin media-linked photographer” in an article posted on July 11. The English-language Ukrainian information web site wrote that Melnikov has intensive connections to Russian state media, together with working for Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today), a media group owned and operated by the Russian authorities, since 2009.

“Melnikov’s work with Russian state media — which openly pushes narratives justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine — raises serious concerns about the extent of his international recognition, especially when respected Western institutions are the ones helping to elevate these narratives,” Ukrainian photograph critic Dmytro Kyyan instructed The Kyiv Independent.

Leica says that “following a legal and compliance review, Leica Camera AG decided that Valery Melnikov’s series could no longer remain on the 2026 LOBA shortlist.”

‘Inconvenient Photographs’

Melnikov took to Instagram yesterday to register his displeasure at being faraway from LOBA. The Russian photographer says that he was contacted by Leica, which objected to his hyperlinks to RIA Novosti, a information company operated by Rossiya Segodnya.

“Apparently, the Leica team became concerned about the possible consequences and cited the fact that some of the photographs in the project had been taken while I was working for RIA Novosti,” Melnikov writes.

“It is important to note that this has always been public information, and it did not prevent the jury from initially selecting my series.”

Melnikov says he has been “documenting the situation in Mariupol and the surrounding region since 2022,” calling it a long-term private venture.

“I do not do this in the interests of corporations or states, but for ordinary people and for history,” he says. “And yet a major corporation, frightened by reputational or other risks, has simply chosen to restrict people’s access to information.”

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Update 8/11: Updated with quote from Leica.