Sergey Bratkov's work is strongly rooted in socialist realism. He critically questions the relationship between art and reality in post-Soviet society. Between 1994 and 1997, he was part of the Fast Reaction Group, an artists' collective with Boris Mikhailov and Sergiy Solonsky. Besides provocative performances, they mainly created photography. Most of Bratkov's works have a documentary character with a rather absurdist and wry undertone. He often portrays young people in everyday situations. In doing so, he takes them out of their banal context so that they become 'heroes', or rather 'anti-heroes'. Bratkov often presents his photos on light boxes, which makes his images more powerful.
