Posts Tagged "Street Photography"
Boris Nemtsov Supporter
He was standing a few feet from the spot on the Moscow bridge where Boris Nemtsov was shot less than 24 hours earlier. He was holding a photo of Nemtsov and a small sign that read ''Heros don't die.'' He said he was part of the opposition movement and knew Nemtsov personally. ''I almost died when I heard the news,'' he said. ''He was probably the most honest opposition politician. He was someone you could trust.'' He said he was going to stand all night on the bridge to ensure no one removes the flowers. He said he wants people to see just how many flowers are left for Nemtsov.
Dmitry: Self-Described ‘Average Russian Family’
Dmitry said he moved to Sakhalin with his mom as a young boy from Siberia after his father drowned. He went to work for a pulp and paper factory after schooling, but that company went out of business during the Russian economic turmoil of the 1990s. He then joined the Russian military in 1993, serving three years. The military food rations were large at the time and ”lasted a year,” Dmitry said. ”Unlike many others, we lived fine during the 1990s.”
Masha: Born in Small Village, Getting 4th Degree
Masha grew up in a village with three residential buildings and 50 people, including her parents and three siblings. Like most tiny villages, there was no plumming, which made a lot of basic chores more difficult. Masha got a scholarship at a university on the Russian mainland, has received another two higher degrees and is working on getting her fourth. She works for one of the largest companies in the world and plans to adopt a child.
Kristina: Sakhalin Equestrian Rider
Sakhalin: Kristina, a highschool student, was standing near the Lenin statue in the center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on a recent Russian holiday offering people to ride a horse for a fee. She said she has been riding horses since age 9 and can race 80km/hour and do jumps. Kristina said she rides with her dad on the weekend for two hours. I asked if he taught her to ride. "I taught him," she said. "I said dad, why don't I teach you. He said 'why'? I told him so that we could ride together." She said it took two months to teach him to ride confidently. Kristina said she would like to become a veterinarian.
Sakhalin Youth Playing Hockey
As we traveled by car in the small Sakhalin town, we passed a group of children playing hockey in front of a Soviet-era residential building. There were seven boys and one girl. She said her name was Yana and that she was 11 years old. She was too shy to say much more.
Dima: Central Asian Immigrant on Sakhalin
He was helping load the back of a truck with vegetables from a store. He said his name was Dima, perhaps a Russified version of his real name, and that he was 24 years-old. He said he came from Kyrgyzstan and would probably be on Sakhalin another year. His two colleagues were also migrants. Dima was one of many Kyrgyz that I met during my short stay on Sakhalin. Most seem to be active in the construction industry as Sakhalin revamps many of the Soviet-era grey housing.
Russian Mother of New Born
She was walking down a narrow street covered in snow, pushing a baby carriage as she passed the colorful wooden homes. She said he had given birth 11 days ago to her third child. Her other two are twin girls. She said her children are fourth generation Sakhalin residents. When asked if she would like her children to leave Sakhalin for mainland Russia, she said ''they will decide where to live,'' adding that Sakhalin ''is in any case better than the mainland. Everyone comes here to work.'' Sakhalin offers parents with three children one of the most generous housing packages in Russia in order to encourage people to have children and stay on the Island.
Vasya: Driver & Fisherman
Vasya, 31, a Sakhalin native, said he started fishing to earn money at age 13 while still a school boy. He would do it in his free time, especially during the summer breaks. Vasya said that he ''loved having money in my pocket'' from fishing outings. Thus, he didn't bother pursing a higher education, either at a technical school or a university. He now says he regrets that decision. Job opportunities without a dipolma are limited. ''I would love to get a diploma, but I don't have time.'' He works mainly as a driver and fisherman, but would love to be a mechanic, even though it may not be an admired position. ''I like to work with metal, but people don't consider such jobs to be prestigious. Everyone wants to be a lawyer or an economist and work in an office. That is not for me.'' I asked him what he will be doing in five years. ''I definitely won't be fishing,'' he said. ''It takes a toll on your life. You don't notice that when you are young because all you care about is the money.'' Vasya said he is telling his younger brother to learn from his example and to ''study, study and study.''
Diana: Painting Her Ugly Entrance
Sakhalin: I was invited by Dmitry, a 45 year-old Sakhalin fisherman for tea at his home. As we pulled up to his standard grey, Soviet-era building, I expected to see the usual, depressing entrance of such buildings.
However, the entrance and first floor walls were covered in various flower designs and a Mickey Mouse figure.
I asked Dmitry who drew the paintings. ”My granddaughter,” he answered. Was this some kind of government program to improve the building, I asked? ”No, she asked if she could pain it and I said sure as long as you don’t paint any bad words,” Dmitry answered….
Minato: One of Remaining Oroki People
Sakhalin: Minato was walking down the street in Poronaysk town, when my guide recognized her as one of the native peoples of Sakhalin Island. Minato said she was an ethnic Oroki, one of nearly 400 in Russia. Minato said she teaches her native language, making her probably one of a handful of Oroki teachers in Russia. A mother of two, Minato said she would never have been born were it not for her 'strong and courageous' grandmother and then told us the following story. A plague hit Sakhalin and ''whole villages were dying.'' Her grandfather told his wife to take the children and flee immediately, telling her ''not to take anything from the house'' in case the items were contaminated with the disease. Her grandmother, whom she said was nearly two meters tall, ''walked and walked through the Taiga'' with her three children, saving them. Her grandmother never again saw here husband, who died from the plague.
