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

Posts Tagged "street"

Victor: Minsk Artist

Victor, 59, was sitting on a bench in the center of Minsk and I approached him to get his views on the city. He ignorned the questions and talked about his painting career. He said as a university student in USSR, he - like other students - was sent to a village to help with the potato harvest. While taking a break in a village house, he noticed a typical Belarusian rug with flower designs on a black background. The babushka let him take it. Twenty years later, he came across the rug amongst his stuff and it inspired a painting in his 'Snow in Black Square' series. The series itself is a play on 'Black Square' by Kazimir Malevich, who lived a few years in Belarus. Victor's site is: www.vitart.net  

Evgeniya: Future Baker

Evgeniya and her boyfriend Vanya (left) were visiting the friend (right) who initially intoduced them. Evgenia said she is going to be a baker like her grandmother. She fondly recalled visiting her grandmother at work for first time at the age of 8. Her grandmother let her play with the dough. I asked Evgenia what her favorite pastery is. 'Eclair - it's the hardest to make, but it is the most delicious.' 

Anna: English Major, Rock Lover

Anna, an English-language student, was listening to 'Shadow Maker' by Finnish-rock group Apocalyptica as she walked toward her university, adding she 'can't stop listening to it. Higher up on her list of favorite groups is Canadian rock band 3 Day Grace. Anna said attending their concert in Minsk was the most memorable event in 2014, 'a dream come true.' 

Lesha: Agro-Engineering Student

Fedya was wearing a 'From Brooklyn' winter hat while walking in a Moscow street underpass. He said he and his sister moved to Moscow from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. His mom passed away and his dad lives in Uzbekistan. Fedya has worked the last four years as a courier, racing around Moscow. He said he just entered university to study ecology, adding it should be a needed profession in resource-rich Uzbekistan. On a side note, NYC (Queens, not Brooklyn) is home to a large diaspora from Bukhara. 

Dima: Street Musician in Underpass (2)

Russia Street Musician Series: Dima was playing in the underpass beneath Tverskaya, one of Moscow's main streets, in about 0c (32F) temperature. He said he started learning at 6 and at 9 when to a music school. After high school, he studied at a technical college and worked in construction til he lost his job. Now, he said, he travels once in a while from the suburbs to Moscow to play for money. He said he likes 1990s rock. 

Alex: Moscow Skateboardist

Alex just graduated with a degree in oil & gas engineering, which should promise a good job outlook. But he isn't keen on working in Siberia... Or necessarily in the industry. For the time being, he is more interested in skateboarding and street fashion.

Russian Soldier Says Farewell

Moscow: I caught this warm moment when I exited the Kremlin grounds this evening. By the looks of it, this young man is probably heading off for a while to serve and was hugging his teary girlfriend. 
 

Margarita: Moscow Artist from Baku

Moscow Street Portrait: I must have passed her 100 times over the years without ever noticing her until she started chating with me as I took photos on Old Arbat pedestrian street. Margarita sells her artwork on Old Arbat during good weather; when its raining or snowing, she sets up shop in the busy pedestrian underground near Red Square. She said she grew up in a Jewish family in Baku, Azerbaijan and moved during perestroika to Moscow, where she worked as an architect, painting in her free time. In 1999, she joined the group of artists that sold their work in the pedestrian underpass in front of Red Square, a narrow corridor that handles more people on a daily basis than probably all the museums in Moscow combined. The artists have long since been cleared from that corridor, but Margarita still ventures there late in the evening when it's raining/snowing. I asked her what the most memoriable moment was all these years of selling paintings. She said that on her very first day in the Red Square underpass, a man - whom she thinks was American - bought a painting for $50, a large sum at the time. "That sale confirmed that I was an artist." It helped her earn respect from other artists in the underpath she said. She used part of the money from the sale to buy several bottles of Russian champagne to celebrate her success with the fellow artists. 
 

Anna: Moscow Fire Twirler

Moscow: Anna was on her way to work, listrning to her headphones, when I passed her. She said she likes to practice twirling chains with fire with friends in a park across the river from the Kremlin. She is wearing black socks up to her calf. 
 

Anya: Quit Job, Enjoying Summer

Moscow: Anya is drinking her Coke and watching Muscovites dance in Gorky Park as the sun goes down behind her and tourist boats cuise by below her. Anya said she recently quit her job and wants to enjoy the rest of the summer before seeking work. 

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