sigue:I'd like to see more substantiated facts and less heresay, supposition and presumption. Aren't heresay, supposition and presumption the very things that make capricious judicial regimes odious?
Okay, let us deal with what we know or can make reasonable judgements about. Galitsin is in trouble with the law. The trouble seems to involve blackmailing models and using underage girls in porn. We know nothing about drugs or the mafia or corrupt police. While there is corruption in public life in Russia, not everybody is corrupt, and the police in Volgograd might actually be doing their duty properly.
Galitsin's success was based on a few things. He has ability to manage studio lighting, he can focus a camera, and he can sometimes capture the right moment. The main thing, though, is that he had some stunning models working for him.
On the other hand, he was not good at excluding bad pictures from his sets, including ones that did no do justice to the models. He also seemed to run out of ideas. He used the same props and costumes over and over. There is one pair of green socks that keeps turning up. Rather than develop as an erotic photographer, he moved toward the sleazy side of things with insertions, pissing, lesbian action, fingering, and worked his way to bad hardcore. I think it pleased him to strip away the models' dignity.
Valentina became a key member of his team. It looked to me as if one of her jobs was to draw other models into stronger stuff. Lots of them seemed to do their first lesbian-style shoots with Valentina.
I said before that I saw Galitsin pictures of models that looked too young. Nobody commented directly on what I said. Many of you will remember a model called Heline from the Galitsin Archives days. He gave her d.o.b. as 06/08/84. It might or might not be true. She is one of those girls whose age is very difficult to judge. There is a set of her posing with three other girls, and all of the others look very young indeed, just past puberty I would think. Do others here remember that set? Do you think the girls were underage? (If you do not remember it, do not ask me how to find it, because I will not help you find content that I think is wrong.)
I do not think he raped Alice, at least not in the sense that would stand up in court. I think he coerced her, and that is as bad. In one way, she could have said no, but I think she was put into a situation where she probably felt she could not refuse.
I belive what Oxana told us about how little he offered to pay her. I found a snippet on a forum last year sometime which said he paid models about $20 a day. Most photographers exploit their models, but I think few exploit them as badly as that. It might be that in Volgograd the girls have few opportunities, and are easy prey. Remember how he came here once and huffed and puffed about Hegre stealing 'his' model Katya and then paying her very little?
I do not know if Galitsin is in trouble because of stuff done for his Galitsin News site or because of other stuff. I do not know if he was directly or indirectly involved with other stuff. I am sure of one thing. Galitsin is not a good person. Most of all, he is not good to girls who have worked for him.
We should not confuse admiring beautiful models with admiring the man who photographed them.