Thanks for checking me out. Here, you’ll find almost everything I’ve written, in both Russian and English. The irony is that although Russian is my mother tongue, today I write predominantly in English. I feel as though the English language broke the chains that Russian society once wrapped around me. Sometimes I know a word in English—usually something connected to personal freedom or confidence—and I can’t find an equivalent in Russian.
That doesn’t mean I don’t miss the Russian language. I do. But I feel that the language I used to love is gone, and I hardly recognize it today when I hear it spoken around me.
The voyage I was thrown into after escaping Russia in 2006 shaped my experience and forced me not only to observe the world, but to feel it deeply. As the years went on, writing became something that always accompanied me, and now I feel I can’t go on without it.
Apart from writing, my passions are photography and cinema—the first as an extension of my admiration for the world, and the latter as my love for storytelling.
I’m happy if what I do makes your life even a little more meaningful or enjoyable.
If you feel connected to what I do, say or write and want to reach out, I keep a small circle called Elena’s Tribe.
If you would like to show me your appreciation for what I do, you are welcome to buy me a martini.