Sasha: Arctic Girl in Search of Herself
St. Petersburg: She would have fit in perfectly at a rockabilly concert with her red and white poker-dot skirt, a blue bandana in her hair and black converse sneakers. Instead, she was reading Machiavelli’s 'The Prince’ while making espresso’s from the back of a coffee car in one of the busiest spots near Nevsky. Just 21, Sasha said she already divorced and is now in her fourth city, having grown up in Murmansk and lived briefly in Krasnodar and Moscow. Her colorful style contrasted sharply with her mood, which is reflected in her facial expression in the photo. Even a surprise rose couldn’t cause a smile. She said people criticized her everyday and mentioned she didn’t have a high opinion of herself, adding she has a bad temper. She said she is hoping to find herself. I asked about Moscow. She responded she didn't like city probably because she worked at a funeral home.
Maria: Street Musician in Europe
St. Petersburg: Maria, 22, was wearing a purple dress that matched her purple dreads. A hair dresser by education with excellent English, she travels from time to time to Finland and Germany to play hard core on the streets. She takes her guitar, an amplifier and about 100 euros. She uses couch surfing to stay at homes for free. If she doesn’t party much, she returns to St. Pete with 200 euros. She makes on average about 40-50 euro a day. Maria said she was leaving soon for Europe for a month to play. She contacted one of her favorite groups - Stockholm-based dEMOTIONAL - to ask if she could party with them while she is in town. Maria said her 28 year-old sister, who likes to dress in various ethnic clothing, is even more adventurous, doing extreme sports like paragliding & working as a mountain guide from time to time in South America.
Oleg: St. Petersburg Musician
St. Petersburg: Oleg was walking along Nevsky with his friends. He said he is a vocalist in a metal core band. However, the band is 'having some issues,' he said.
Alan & Gulnaz: Artists from Moscow
St. Petersburg: Alan, 32, and Gulnaz, 30, traveled to St. Petersburg from Moscow for Alan's music performance in a circus. When asked how they met, Alan said Gulnaz was sharing an apartment with a girl friend of his violinist. Gulnaz grew up in Ufa and made a documentary film about the plane crash over Europe that killed more than a hundred people from Ufa, including many school children. She said the film was shown at a foreign film festival.
Andrei & Katya: University Music Students
St. Petersburg: Andrei, 18, and Katya, 20, had just finished taking their final exams at a St. Petersburg music university and were headed for a walk. Katya said she grew up on Sakhalin and moved to St. Petersburg to study. She now lives with Andrei. ''We hit it off pretty quickly,'' Andrei joked. Andrei is studying singing, while Katya is studying to be a conductor. Andrei said he has been playing the bayan, or Russian accordion, since age 9. He said his parents didn't encourage him to study it. Rather, he saw a friend playing it and decided for himself to sign up for classes.
Evgeny: 1920s Gangster Fashion
St. Petersburg: Evgeny, 18, was walking with a new acquaintance outside a popular St. Petersburg mall. Hair slicked back and sporting a long coat, Evgeny said he liked the fashion style of 1920s American gangster figures as portrayed in films. Evgeny works in a restaurant and said he likes to spend his free time walking around St. Petersburg.
Anastasia: Celebrating Son’s Graduation
St. Petersburg: I passed Palace Square and the Hermitage at 4:30 am on a Monday morning. As I did so, I saw some people on the square and got out to find out who they are and what they were doing. Anastasia, 39, was dressed in a yellow outfit and walking with a group. An office worker, Anastasia said she was celebrating her son's high school graduation.
Yulia: Finding Herself in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg: I passed 24 yo Yulia three days in a row as she stood in her costume in the center of St. Petersburg. Yulia, like so many others I met in Russia's second city, said she moved here 4 years ago after falling in love with St. Petersburg's architecture. ''It is so romantic,'' she said of the city. Raised in Murmansk, Yulia studied accounting at an institute in her hometown and worked in her profession. However, she was bored by the routine work and quit. For the past month, she has been working at a restaurant, handing out flyers on the street and entertaining children inside the restaurant. Yulia, who likes to read and write poetry in her free time, says its a temporary job until she 'finds herself.’ However, she is enjoying herself in the meantime she says. People happily stop to photograph with her, she said. ‘’I am happy that I have a fun job that pays well,’’ she said.
Alisa: Family of Architects
St. Petersburg: Alisa, 29, was sitting on her foldable bicycle, waiting for her friend Sasha. Alisa was carrying her painting gear on her back. She said she was going to paint the St. Petersburg cityscape with her friend. Born and raised in Rostov, Alisa moved to St. Pete several years ago in part because of the city’s beauty. Alisa is an architect as are both her father and brother. Sasha is also an architect as are his sister, dad, aunt, grandmother and grandfather. Sasha said his dad and grandfather also paint because they were limited in their architectural creativity during Soviet times.
Yulia & Masha: Twins from Murmansk
St. Petersburg: These twins from Murmansk were rollerbladding together in front of the Hermitage. Yulia and Masha, 21, just graduated a St Petersburg university with a degree in conflict resolution and multimedia. They are now trying to decided what they want to do next. Yulia said that conflict resolution isn't well developed in Russia, so they will likely pursue work in multimedia.
About Shades of Russia
Shades of Russia is an independent photography blog about people and life in Russia and the former Soviet Union. There are more than 500 portraits posted from about 15 Russian cities, Belarus, Ukraine and Caucasus. The first portraits date back to the summer of 2013.
