“If you had a billion euros, how would you spend it?”He rubbed his broad forehead and said, “Actually, I have it,” then fell silent.I stared at him, unconvinced. Maybe he had not understood me. I met his eyes and asked again. It was Paris, December 2020. Adrien was a stranger, arriving at my studio forContinue reading “Adrien”
Category Archives: YSBM
Maksim Bratsun
Although he might deny it, Maksim Bratsun, at thirty-six, is the most enlightened person I know. He is one of those guys who learned how to love not only himself but all that surrounds him. It seems like he awakened and now lives in the moment.Last year, when I interviewed Maksim, he was living inContinue reading “Maksim Bratsun”
Mateja
She came to the village in a dark grey Kia hatchback. Her young Chinese car looked sporty: big rims, low-profile tires, tinted windows, and sharp lines running from front to back, visually lowering it even more.From the balcony of my old limestone house, I watched her approach.She sped over a sandy, stony stretch of roadContinue reading “Mateja”
Dasha
‘When we were kids, why were you always obliged to work, but I wasn’t?’ I asked my cousin Dasha during the interview.‘Your mother pitied you, but my didn’t.’ Said Dasha. Dasha was born and raised in Molodechno, Belarus. She always was and will be older than me by three years. When we were kids we’veContinue reading “Dasha”
Simona Kust
I’m a guud person,I’m a goud person,I’m a good person, Simona Kust tells herself when she hesitates, whether her words and actions are good. Simona was the second person who participated in my project “Your Story By Me”. It was in Moscow, on the 31st of January 2019. She was 16, lived with her boyfriendContinue reading “Simona Kust”
Anya and Sergey
‘I’m very much afraid of needles,’ Anya said.‘Needles?’ I repeated, unpacking a needle.‘Yes!’ She said and smiled.‘So how do you pass a blood test?’ I was questioning how serious she is.‘This is how: I faint every time.’The way she had answered made me laugh. I looked at Sergey. It seemed she wasn’t joking. His eyesContinue reading “Anya and Sergey”
Eila Strandmark
‘If you got a billion euro, how would you spend it?’ I asked Eila, staring at her nose covered with freckles.‘I would like to educate girls in India.’ Said Eila not hesitated for a second.I was glad to hear it from a 22-year-old woman. The answer like that gives me hope that young people areContinue reading “Eila Strandmark”
Farah
I was born in Tunisia, in a small town near the sea. I came to Moscow three years ago to study medicine, and my story is fucked up. So said Farah, a 22-year-old woman with blue curly hair, red lips, big cheeks, and a tiny ring in her neat nose. What have you done?I failedContinue reading “Farah”
