Brighton Beach (aka "Little Odessa") lies on the southernmost part of Brooklyn. On Brighton Beach one doesn't have to make any effort to tell who might be Russian strolling on the Boardwalk, cause everyone is, practically. I decided to make a series on them going up to random individuals who looked interesting but I knew nothing about. Their stories below the captions are fake, based solely on the figment of the photographer's imagination. - All characters appearing in this work are fictious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Vlad (65) came to settle in New York at the age of 46. After two failed marriages and procreating three kids who eventually had to grow up without their father, he decides to leave everything behind and packs up a suitcase to start a new life somewhere else, although he's unsure at this point where. He arrives to the airport gazing at the departure board where he sees the first possible option to get out of the country: New York City. He purchases the ticket for the flight taking off soon after - this leaves exactly 132 dollars worth of rubles in his left pocket. While waiting to board, he plays with some annoyingly unidentifiable dirt he finds in his right pocket.
Marina (59) lives in Novosibirisk when at the age of 23 she accidentally overhears a conversation between her gossiping neighbors talking about comrade xy who fled the country to a place called Brooklyn. She knows it's in America but pays no further attention to the story. When people ask her how she ended up in Brighton Beach, she keeps silent with a sad grin on her face. Among a number of things she enjoys playing durak. The objective of the game is to get rid of all one's cards. At the end of the game, the last player with cards in their hand is referred to as the fool (durak).
Evgenia (75) and Yakov (78) meet when they're in high school. Evgenia in fact doesn't like Yakov at first, but she is completely won over when he shows her the sculptures that he makes out of frozen sour cream. He explains for hours how he uses berry juice and egg yolks to color the sour cream. Evgenia's heart finally cracks wide open and they get married in the traditional Jewish way. When Yakov breaks the glass he injures his foot with a chipped off piece and has to be rushed to hospital leaving the marriage unconsummated. Their bond is as strong as ever, despite the fact that Evgenia hasn't quite gotten used to Yakov slowly turning completely deaf.
Olga (69) arrives to New York in 1983 from a small town in the Soviet Union the name of which she is reluctant to reveal. She claims she was referred to as the prettiest girl on the block back in the days, the reason for which she earns the most tips and receives the most friendly pats on her behind whilst working in a local restaurant called Tatiana as a waitress at the time. She gets her first dog in 1992, that dies of cancer nine years later. The one pictured is her third pet named Mikhail which was the name of two Russian tsars. "Mikhail has hereditary epilepsy, but she is a good dog, never soils the carpet" - she proclaims with a heavy Ukranian accent.
Irina (71) is born to immigrant parents in Brooklyn who came to America as white emigrés during the Russian Civil War. It is apparent from an early age that the little Irina is born for showbiz while entertaining dinner guests with singing and tap dancing. She attends acting school but eventually never makes it on a real stage due to a nervous breakdown that is caused by his head drama teacher labelling her "scandalously untalented" after her final performance exam. She is a retired pastry cook and spends most of her time rambling on the Boardwalk whenever the weather allows, quietly humming along her favorite radio show that broadcasts a mostly uninterrupted stream of golden oldies.
