Images from the contested territories of Abkhazia, Nagorno Karabakh, South Ossetia and Transnistria taken by Karlos Zurutuza. All four states have announced their independence without being recognised as such by the international community. Hover over a picture to see its caption and click on it to enlarge it.

• Inguri River

  The bridge over the Inguri River, which separates the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia from Georgia. The view is from the Abkhazian side of the river (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Inguri River

  The bridge over the Inguri River, which separates the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia from Georgia. The view is from the Abkhazian side of the river (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Gagra

  Holiday snapshots with a bird of prey in the hills over Gagra, a town in Abkhazia on the coast of the Black Sea (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Gagra

  Holiday snapshots with a bird of prey in the hills over Gagra, a town in Abkhazia on the coast of the Black Sea (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Lenin in Abkhazia

  Lenin mosaic in the area of a former sanatoria turned into a R&R place for Russian peacekeepers (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Lenin in Abkhazia

  Lenin mosaic in the area of a former sanatoria turned into a R&R place for Russian peacekeepers (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Gagra

  War debris in the Abkhazian town of Gagra, a beach resort favoured by Russian tourists (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Gagra

  War debris in the Abkhazian town of Gagra, a beach resort favoured by Russian tourists (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Ruins

  Parkour has also reached this remote corner of the Black Sea. A young guy jumps amid the ruins of the shelled former government house in Abkhazia (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Ruins

  Parkour has also reached this remote corner of the Black Sea. A young guy jumps amid the ruins of the shelled former government house in Abkhazia (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Aghdam

  The former Azeri city of Aghdam, in the buffer zone between the de-facto independent but unrecognised Republic of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, was levelled to the ground by Armenian forces (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Aghdam

  The former Azeri city of Aghdam, in the buffer zone between the de-facto independent but unrecognised Republic of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, was levelled to the ground by Armenian forces (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• To Stepanakert

  A stopover on the way to Stepanakert, the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• To Stepanakert

  A stopover on the way to Stepanakert, the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Karabakh kids

  Children in the town of Shushi (Nagorno Karabakh; photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Karabakh kids

  Children in the town of Shushi (Nagorno Karabakh; photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Shushi

  Other than the visible destruction in Shushi, the Karabakh city also lost its former Azeri community (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Shushi

  Other than the visible destruction in Shushi, the Karabakh city also lost its former Azeri community (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Armenian cathedral

  The Armenian cathedral in the Karabakh town of Shushi (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Armenian cathedral

  The Armenian cathedral in the Karabakh town of Shushi (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tskhinval

  All the trappings of a film set: a badly damaged road in the South Ossetian town of Tskhinval (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tskhinval

  All the trappings of a film set: a badly damaged road in the South Ossetian town of Tskhinval (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tskhinval

  Shaking hands: the presidents of North and South Ossetia on a post near the market of the South Ossetian town of Tskhinval. South Ossetia is self-declared independent republic that broke away from Georgia (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tskhinval

  Shaking hands: the presidents of North and South Ossetia on a post near the market of the South Ossetian town of Tskhinval. South Ossetia is self-declared independent republic that broke away from Georgia (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tskhinval market

  Market day in South Ossetia’s main town of Tskhinval (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tskhinval market

  Market day in South Ossetia’s main town of Tskhinval (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Khetagurovo

  Locals in the South Ossetian town of Khetagurovo (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Khetagurovo

  Locals in the South Ossetian town of Khetagurovo (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• War memorial

  War memorial with eternal flame in Tiraspol, the second largest city in Moldova and capital of the breakaway republic of Transnistria (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• War memorial

  War memorial with eternal flame in Tiraspol, the second largest city in Moldova and capital of the breakaway republic of Transnistria (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Lenin in Transnistria

  Transnistria, today a de facto state by the River Dniester, remembers the times when it belonged to the world´s biggest state (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Lenin in Transnistria

  Transnistria, today a de facto state by the River Dniester, remembers the times when it belonged to the world´s biggest state (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tiraspol

  Former local “heroes of the Soviet Union” on display in Tiraspol, Transnistria´s capital city (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Tiraspol

  Former local “heroes of the Soviet Union” on display in Tiraspol, Transnistria´s capital city (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Market

  Street market in the Transnistrian capital of Tiraspol (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).

• Market

  Street market in the Transnistrian capital of Tiraspol (photo © Karlos Zurutuza).