Capturing Russia from white to black, north to south, east to west

Posts Tagged "travel"

Roman: Moscow Street Musician from Minsk

Roman: Moscow Street Musician from Minsk

Roman fit the stereotypical image of a European backpacker with his dreads, facial hair and guitar. However, he wasn't playing in front of a warm bonfire somewhere in Asia, rather in a cold pedestrian underpass in Moscow. Roman let me take his photo and asked for a copy, addressing me in a hippy fashion with 'hi man.' However, he didn't answer any questions, so was unable to learn something about him. But the social media page he contacted me from indicated he was from neighboring Belarus.

Maxim: Street Musician (2)

Maxim: Street Musician (2)

A close-up of Maxim, a street musician who plays rock music with his guitar. He said he lived and worked in my hometown of NYC in early 1990s doing home repairs/comstruction work. He also said he plays on the streets in Berlin, where he claims he can make as much as several hundred euros a day, several times more than he can make playing on the streets in Moscow.

Russia-NYC Series 37

Russia-NYC Series 37

 Another shot of Kolya, in the NYC hat, and his friend Ruslan, a sound engineer. Ruslan said in a strong English accent that he recently returned home from a long stay in the UK and is impressed by the changes he noticed in Moscow, something I have heard quite a few times. 
 

Russia-NYC Series 36

Russia-NYC Series 36

 Kolya, a engineer and fashionista, was crossing the pedestrian bridge behind Christ the Savior church on a chilly Moscow Autumn day sporting a NYC hat.
 

Russia-NYC Series 35

Russia-NYC Series 35

To anyone in NYC, these hats stand for the Yankees. In Russia, where baseball is basically non-existent, its simply stands for New York City. Valentin and Sofia, first-year law students, were walking together in snowy Moscow when I passed them. Valentin said he and Sofia recently met in university. Valentin said he wants to continue studying after getting a law degree and go into politics because there a lot of things he would like to change. One issue close to his heart is secondary education, which he feels forces high school students to learn useless material. 
 

Russia-NYC Series 34

Russia-NYC Series 34

Yura and Murat, 12 years old, were on their way to watch a Russian tennis championship match in Moscow with two other friends. Dressed in a NYC sweater and winter hat, Yura and Murat said they have each been playing tennis for several years, but prefer BMX biking, a sport that seems to have become more popular in Moscow in recent years with the opening of new, outdoor extreme biking grounds.
 

Russia-NYC Series 33

Russia-NYC Series 33

The young man on the left in the NYC shirt and his uncle come from a small village on the shore of Lake Issyk Kul in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. The young man said he graduated with a law degree, but as there were no jobs at home, came to Russia. He said he worked 2.5 years on Yamal Peninsual, Russia's main gas producing region, which lines on the Arctic circle. He loved the region's nature, but found it tough to bear -45c. Now he works as a cashier in Moscow and says he is satisfied with the work and pay. He dreams of earning enough to buy a car and build himself a home in is village in Kyrgyzstan. He then showed me a few photos of his village at the foot of Lake Issuk Kul with the Tian Shan Mountains rising in the background. 
 

Russia-NYC Series 32

Russia-NYC Series 32

Alexander was in the metro on his way out on a Friday night when I noticed his ‘Where Brooklyn At’ baseball cap. He said his work actually has him focused on the Asia-Pacific region rather than across the Atlantic. He said he occasionally moonlights as a DJ at small spots in the city. 
 

Russia-NYC Series 31

Russia-NYC Series 31

Anton, on the right in a t-shirt with the Empire state building, was sitting with two friends on a bench in the southern city of Stavropol following a walk around town with some girlfriends. A highschool student, Anton said he occasionally took part in rap battles with his friends. (The second friend, sitting on the right, didn't want to be photographed.)

Russia-NYC Series 29

Russia-NYC Series 29

She was leaving the rocky Sochi beach at dusk with her friend when I saw her in her NYC shirt. She said she was an architect and had worked on Olympic-related projects. With post-Olympic work in Sochi coming to an end, she said she would be heading back soon to St Petersburg.

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