Posts Tagged "russia"
Stanislav: Seeing-Impaired Street Musician (2)
Another photo of Stanislav, the nearly-blind 77yo accordion player, who says he will play till the end. Here you can see his instrument on a cart that he was dragging through the snow. He has a stick in his other hand to help him walk.
Stanislav: Seeing-Impaired Street Musician
Before I continue with my Minsk photos, I want to post a two portraits from last 24h in Moscow to show how very different people were spending the holiday. I met Stanislav, a 77 yo accordion player, nearly a year ago at the Izmailovsky souvenir market, where he plays as tourists and Russians pass on their way to buy gifts. Today, I randomly saw him in the underpass near Izmailovsky as he dragged his accordion on a cart with one hand and used a sightseeing stick with the other. He had come to play for the holiday crowds, but the market was closed, so he was trying to find a populated place near the park. Nearly blind due - as he put it - to a bad operation, he says he won't stop playing regardless of how difficult it is to drag his stuff through the snow. "If I stop playing music, I will die. It is a holy cause." He said he was proud of his daughter, who has followed in his musical footsteps and often tours Europe to play.
Svetlana: ‘New York’ in Kursk
Svetlana, 15, was walking along Lenin St in Kursk with her two girlfriends when I noticed the New York winter hat, which is very popular right now - i see at least one a day. She spoke good English and said she wanted to be a translator. Her older brother also spoke good English she she said because he spent time in New Orleans. I asked her about her wishes for the New Year. She said she wanted to visit St Petersburg in the winter time.
Igor: Veteran Journalist
Igor has been a journalist for most of the past 25 years and penned 3 books, including one on the bandits of Kursk region. I asked him if the crime situation was improving. He felt it was getting worse because of the widening gap between rich and poor in the region, an issue that is Russia wide. When I asked him about the most interesting Kursk crime story he covered, he said it was the kidnapping of a businessman's son. The kidnappers demand $2mln and ended up getting caught. One of the kidnappers told Igor after the sentencing that they were too greedy. Had they asked for a smaller sum, they might have gotten it.
St. Petesburg:Bound
He said he had just finished his mandatory military service and would like to attend university in St. Petersburg. However, he said he needs to save up money first so he took a job as an administrator in Kursk in the meantime.
Lera: Student, Street Worker
Lera, 15, was standing on Lenin Street in Kursk handing out flyers for an electronics store along with a woman about 4x her age. Lera said she didn't want to depend on handouts from her parents. I asked what job she would like to have in the future. First she said she wanted to be a banker. When I asked why, she said she really wanted to be a policewoman. She said she loves watching a tv serial called 'Trail.'
Oleg: Kursk Painter
Oleg is a well-known character in Kursk, running a gallery showing off local artists including himsdlf. Oleg was dressed in a denim jeans jacket, bell-bottom jeans and pointy black shoes, a reflection of his afinity for the 1970s and its music. He said he loves Robert Plant and listens to Led Lepplin sometimes when he paints. Indeed, a TV in the gallery corner was showing a LZ concert. Oleg said he was studying for an engineering exam some 30 years ago at a friend's house when he picked up a brush and started painting on a canvas belonging to his friend's brother. The brother told him he had talent and he gave up engineering. Oleg, who is surrounded by his paintings in this photo, doesn't just have an affinity for bell bottoms. He claims to have one of the largest horse bell collections in Russia with more than 1,000 pieces.
Alexander: Johnny Depp Fan
Alexander said he would like to move to Moscow to study acting when he finishes a technical school in Kursk. He said Johnny Depp is one of his favorite actors and Pirates of the Caribbean one of his favorite movies. We actually met in front of the Kursk theatre, which is visible behind him.
Denis: New Home Owner
Denis, an IT engineer, said the biggest event of his life in 2014 was buying a flat, a near decade-long dream. I asked if he took a mortgage. He said no because - as he put it - he didn't want some banker hounding him and ripping him off for the next 20 years. Russian mortgage rates are around 12-14%, so it is a burden. Denis said the ruble weakness was a problem as inflation is outpacing wages increases. 'I am earning more, but have less left over.'
Alona: Future Nurse
I asked Alona why she decided to attend Kursk Medical School. She said she grew up in a village and visited a hospital as part of a school program. She recalls watching nurses bandage an amputee and decide she wanted to help people as well.
