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

Ivan & Nadezhda: Visiting from Surgut

RED SQUARE: Ivan and Nadezhda, 22, were crossing Red Square right before sunset, Nadezhda's bright dress making them stick out from the crowd. They said they live in the Siberian oil town of Surgut are in the middle of a long vacation. They came to Moscow to visit Ivan's grandparents after a week-long stop in a Nizhny Novgorod village, where Nadezhda was born. They were then headed to Prague. Ivan and Nadezhda said they were in Moscow last year and I asked their opinion of the city. Nadezhda was surprised at the amount of street underpasses under reconstruction in Moscow. They said that Nadezhda’s mom joined them on the trip Moscow, a city the mom hasn’t visited in 26 years. Nadezhda's mom was surprised by the changes in Moscow, in particular, the skyscrapers and refurbished parks. I asked Nadezhda and Ivan about their view of Surgut. Nadezhda would like to see a refurbished riverside in Surgut that she sees in her home region of Nizhny. Ivan, a future pediatrician, wants to see a specialized children’s hospital in Surgut as well as a refurbished train station. I asked how they met considering that Ivan grew up in Surgut in Siberia and Nadezhda in Nizhny. Ivan said that his friend went to study in Nizhny Novgorod and became friends with Nadezhda. The friend put the two in touch and then Ivan and Nadezhda continued to communicate by Internet until Nadezhda moved to Surgut. Ivan has a few more years to study to finish his medical training.

Maxim: Young Sailor

NIZHNY NOVGOROD: Maxim, 23, was sitting on a bench in the center of Nizhny Novgorod waiting to take care of some paper work. The sailor said he grew up in Mari El in central Russia and moved to Nizhny Novgorod to study. He recalled his first trip out to sea...it was in the Barents Sea in the Far North of Russia. He said it started out as a normal, sunny day. As evening approached, they went to their cabins to rest. Later, there was a storm warning. First, the chairs started to move, then the doors started to open and personal items like shampoo started to fall to the floor. They went to the back of the ship, where he saw the huge waves. ‘’For some it was awesome, for others scary.’’ He said for him personally it was both amazing and scary at the same time. ‘’I was captivated.’’ After the storm passed and clouds cleared, he was again captivated...this time by the Northern Lights that appeared, the first time he had ever seen it. To see some photos of Nizhny Novgorod, please click here.

Ibragim: Returning Home to Ingushetia

NIZHNY NOVGOROD: Ibragim and his older brother Magomed left their homeland of Ingushetia with their large family in 2000 due to the war in neighboring Chechnya. They went to Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga in central Russia. Although Ibragim was only 5, he went to first grade with his 7 year-old brother. As outsiders in a new town, their father wanted them to be together so they could support one another. They went to grammar school together, practiced judo together, went to the gym together, entered the same university faculty and recently graduated together as economic crime specialists. Their father bought them land on the same street in Ingushetia so their future families will grow up together. They will likely work together in Inigushetia as well. Magomed has already returned to Ingushetia to start his new life. Ibragim will leave Nizhny shortly. Although there is a lot that unites them, they are nonetheless different. Ibragim, now 20, says his brother is more serious - focused now on starting a career and a family. Ibragim says he wants to focus for now on traveling and photography, a hobby he started last year. He plans to start photographing the mountainous regions of Igushetia when he returns home.

Vlad: Living in a Hostel

NIZHNY NOVGOROD: I was pretty surprised when Vlad told me that he gets up around to exercise at 6am in the center of Nizhny Novgorod with a group called Smile Team, which was formed a few months ago. He said he used to get up to do yoga at around 5am, but then joined Smile Team after accidentally meeting them one morning. But I was even more surprised when he told me that he was born and raised in Nizhny and has a job in town, yet lives in a hostel. He said he decided to rent out his apartment, which is only 100 meters from the hostel, so that he could have more money to enjoy life and work less. Vlad said that his father is currently in the midst of a long trip around the world. His father, who made decent money from his business, decided to take time off, transferring management to another person. Vlad, who works in marketing, said he wants to help change people's attitudes toward work and life. He says one of the biggest problems in Russia is that people aren't positive.

Snezhana: Mom & Pole Dance Instructor

NIZHNY NOVGOROD: ''It was a hobby that became a business. This is not striptease. It is a sport and I want to get it across to people that this is a serious activity that requires a lot of physical strength,’’ said Snezhana, 41. She was offering pole dancing lessons with her colleague Masha, 41, at an outdoor EDM festival near Nizhny Novgorod as a way to promote their year-old school. I asked Snezhana how she got into the business. She said she signed up for World Class Gym in Nizhny at about age 35, right after she gave birth to her second daughter. Later, she decided to join the pole dancing class offered by the gym. Snezhana was one of four students in the class. After two years, she and classmate Masha, decided to open their own pole dancing school, which they did last September. They teach four to five lessons a day, said Masha. Some are group classes, some are individual lessons. Among the students are Snezhana’s 7 year-old daughter (the youngest student) as well as Masha’s 22 year-old daughter. The eldest student is a 46 years-old.

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Grigori: Sports Store Owner

ST. PETERSBURG: Grigory jumped onto his old-school bike and said he was headed to his sport goods store. I asked him he got into the business. He said he began to run on jumping stilts about 7 years ago. He liked it and decided to buy a pair for himself and his two sons. After two years, the hobby turned into a business…Grigory bought an internet store selling jumping stilts. This spring, he and his eldest son Ivan opened the store on Nevsky Prospect, selling stilts, rollerblades, foot scooters, pogo sticks among other things. The story doesn’t end there. In 2010, Grigory got into pneumatic pogo sticks with his youngest son Dmitry. After two years of practicing, his son really progressed. In 2013, Dmitry won a championship and in 2014 he became an official rider for the Xpogo team. You can read about his Dmitry at www.xpogo.com - his photo and bio are there. Grigory said Dmitry holds a Guinness record. One of his trademark jumps is called the ‘Vodka flip.'

Girl with Pet Rabbit

NIZHNY NOVGOROD: It was a beautiful evening in Nizhny Novgorod. As I stood high above the town by the Kremlin wall, I watched as the bright orange sun dipped behind the clouds as ships sailed along the Volga. As I made my way down the many stairs to the revamped riverside, I noticed many people - especially couples - walking slowly along the new pavement. It was like a pleasant tale from a book….except that this woman was walking her rabbit. She said she had dogs and cats in the past, but a rabbit is easier because you don't have to walk it every day like a dog and it doesn't leave as much fur around as a cat. To see some photos of Nizhny Novgorod, please click here.

Ismail: Uzbek Immigrant Worker

MOSCOW: Ismail, 26, was riding a small bicycle in VDNKh, where he helps clean the park and amusement area clean. As VDNKh is big, the bicycle may be used by workers to get around and communicate with one another. Ismail said he grew up in a village in Uzbekistan about 500 kilometers from the capital of Tashkent. He said he has been working in Russia nearly five years. He worked about 18 months in Khabarovsk in the Far East of Russia. He moved to Moscow about three years ago, first cleaning court years and shoving snow off roofs, before joining the park in the spring. Ismail said he has a wife and child and is saving to build a home in his village.

Alina & Polina: Reunited After 4 Years

MOSCOW: University students Alina and Polina were taking a walk in the park. Alina said her father landed a job in Australia and moved the family there about four years ago. Alina was visiting friends and her hometown for the first time since moving to Australia. She didn't things in Moscow had changed much since. Alina and Polina have been friends now for about six years despite the distance that separates them. Polina said she has yet to visit Alina in Australia.

Rada: Rollerblading with Twins

MOSCOW: Rada was skating along the Moscow River as she pushed her 5-month old twins Adelinа & Angelina in a carriage. Over the past year, I have started to see people skating or running with a carriage, but never with two babies. Rada started rollerblading with the twins a month ago. Depending on the weather, she rollerblades 2 to 5 times a week. The round trip lasts about 5 hours with a 2-hour break at Gorky Park. Rada says its very convenient: The babies get a long-period outdoors while she gets a chance to exercise, tan & meet friends all without being away from the babies. ‘’5 years ago, it wouldn't have been possible to image this'' in Moscow, she said. People's reaction surprised her - they smile & give a thumbs up. Rada taught herself to skate at age eight. Those first skates belonged to her friend that lived in the same building, thus she only skated a few times during the summer. Now, for the first time, she has her own skates.

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