Metro station (photo by Joe DeMarie)

Metro station (photo by Joe DeMarie)

Monument to the Conquerors of Space

Monument to the Conquerors of Space

Renovation

Renovation

Worker and Kolkhoznitsa (photo by Joe DeMarie)

Worker and Kolkhoznitsa (photo by Joe DeMarie)

St. Basil's Cathedral

St. Basil's Cathedral

Yuri Gagarin Monument

Yuri Gagarin Monument

Sarah, Jon, Arline

Sarah, Jon, Arline

Gorky Park

Gorky Park

Russia

Moscow

1996 • Boris Yeltsin's reelection was the background noise for 6 months in a still-staggering post-Soviet Russia. He disappeared in the final stretch of the campaign—either a massive heart attack or stroke—yet that drunk old clown still managed to win by a huge margin. Most people rolled their eyes at the whole thing because democracy and free-market enterprise hang on Russia like an ill-fitting suit. Stayed the whole time with Jon and Arline, and worked at the Moscow Times as a copyeditor and Reebok Russia as an English teacher. Even with two jobs and no rent, I came back to the U.S. deep in the hole. Highest cost of living I've ever experienced.

Metro station (photo by Joe DeMarie)

Monument to the Conquerors of Space

Renovation

Worker and Kolkhoznitsa (photo by Joe DeMarie)

St. Basil's Cathedral

Yuri Gagarin Monument

Sarah, Jon, Arline

Gorky Park