Finding Love in Online Places
Valentina was assigned the number 1355, an identification number she was given after joining a “mail-order bride” agency in her hometown of Kharkov, Ukraine. In 2002, Valentina, a widow of 18 years and a mother of two teenage girls, thought: “I like odd numbers. It was lucky. Who knows? Life is life.”
The Invisible Ones: Growing up Blind in Russia
Tanya reaches her round hand into the refrigerator and snatches Krasik from his hiding place. The 3-year-old hands her small friend to her mother, who quickly pretends along that Krasik (or Red, Tanya’s imaginary friend) has escaped her hold and run away. Tanya squeals and goes off in search of Krasik, who she cannot see for more than one reason.
The Challenges of Modernizing Russia
The most common question I am asked here, in the capital of the Komi Republic, 26 hours northeast by train from Moscow, is, “Why Russia?”
Russians ask me this question with all the sincerity in the world. Why would an American choose to work and make a home in this country?
Russians know that Russia is the birthplace of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky; famous for winter temperatures in the double-digit negatives; home of the periodic table and the first man in space; a stage both for revolutions and premier ballet. They know that Russia is the country with the longest borders, the most time zones, the most significant production of oil, the widest swaths of virgin forest, and the world’s deepest freshwater lake.
And yet they don’t understand why foreigners would be interested in living in their country.
Russians ask me this question with all the sincerity in the world. Why would an American choose to work and make a home in this country?
Russians know that Russia is the birthplace of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky; famous for winter temperatures in the double-digit negatives; home of the periodic table and the first man in space; a stage both for revolutions and premier ballet. They know that Russia is the country with the longest borders, the most time zones, the most significant production of oil, the widest swaths of virgin forest, and the world’s deepest freshwater lake.
And yet they don’t understand why foreigners would be interested in living in their country.
Old Believers in a New World
Published in 1859's summer 2011 issue. Click on the image for a larger view.
Road Reconsidered- Oregon's McKenzie River Highway, published in 1859's fall 2010 issue. Click on the image for a larger view.