Anna, 24, who works in advertising, was hanging out at a rock concert in her “New York Girl” t-shirt.
Yana was strolling near the boardwalk in Sochi near sunset time on day in August. She said she grew up in the Caspian Sea town of Aktau in Kazakhstan, and comes to Sochi every year as her grandmother lives there.
Zhena, 14, Zhenya was wearing a NYC shirt while practicing extreme biking in a sport center in Krasnoyarsk, a Siberian city 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Moscow. Zhenya said he bought the shirt during a trip to NYC for a break dancing competition.
Anastasia, dressed in a New York shirt, was headed out for the night with friends in St. Petersburg.
Anton, sporting a Brooklyn shirt, was walking with his girlfriend Katya toward Sparrow Hills, which offers one of the best views of Moscow.
This couple was out for a stroll in a Moscow park as summer neared an end. Sporting NYC and Memphis sweaters, they said they were studying medicine and economics.
Fedya was wearing a ‘From Brooklyn’ winter hat while walking in a Moscow street underpass. He said he and his sister moved to Moscow from Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Black winter hats are in fashion, regardless of what is written on it. These three girls were walking down the pedestrian street in Vladivostok. Nastya with the NYC hat takes hip-hop dance classes. They all said they wanted to move to St. Petersburg.
Sofia and Valentin, first-year law students, ere walking in the center of Moscow.
Djafro, 23, and his friend Jamshid, 20 (right), were both wearing New York hats while waiting for the Moscow metro. Natives of Uzbekistan, Jamshid wants to be a cop, while Djafro wants to be a professional photographer. Djafro currently takes photos of tourists at Red Square.
Both Vitali and Alexei are from Novosibirsk, the so-called capital of Siberia. Both attend Moscow State University, where I ran into them. Both are studying oil and gas engineering….and both are wearing NYC-themed shirts. Alexei, on the right, said he bought the shirt in Thailand, which is one of the top five foreign destinations for Russian tourists, attracting more than 1mln a year. It takes roughly the same time to fly to Thailand from Novosibirsk as it does to Italy (7hrs).
Sergei and Anton, 23, were exiting the Moscow metro. Sergei was in a NY shirt, Anton in a Bronx hat.
Yura and Murat, 12yo, were on their way to watch a Russian tennis championship match in Moscow with two other friends. Dressed in a NYC sweater and winter hat, Yura and Murat said they have each been playing tennis for several years, but prefer BMX biking.
Olga, left, and her friend were wearing NYC shirts as they walked in a park along the Moscow River. Olga said she picked them up during a trip to NY last year.
Twin brothers Victor and Kostya were walking in the center of Moscow, one in a yellow NY hat, the other with an LA. hat. Construction workers from Moldova, they said they bought the LA hat because they were out of the NY hats.
Medegma, 18, was wearing her New York winter hat while waiting for a bus in Ulan-Ude near the largest Lenin head in the world. She wants to join the armed forces.
Svetlana, 15, was walking along Lenin Street in Kursk with her two girlfriends.
Alyona, 24, was returning from the grocery store in Rostov wearing a New York winter hat, black boots and poker-dot black stockings that didn’t quite hide the tattoos on the legs. She said dances and has switched from Russian folk to ‘industrial’ dance.
Eliana, 15, and Diana are sisters living in Khabarovsk. Their parents mets in Khabarovsk, moved back to their hometown in the Caucasus, but then returned to Khabarovsk as job opportunities were better.
Nastya, 20, is a student in Khabarovsk studying public administration. She said she would like to see a Ferris Wheel in her city and would like her university to have a modern cafeteria and cheerleaders.
She was at a Moscow park to ice skate. She asked me if I knew where the ticket office was. I said no. I asked her if she knew what Harlem was. She said no.
Evgeny is from Krasnodar region, but works at H&M in Moscow. He was walking in the Moscow metro when I photographed him.
Ekaterina, 14, was eating in a McDonald’s in Rostov while wearing her Bronx hat.
Kolya, a engineer, was crossing the pedestrian bridge behind Christ the Savior church on a chilly Moscow Autumn day sporting a NYC hat.
Anya was sitting in a fast-food burger joint talking with her friend. She said she doesn’t drink or smoke and likes dancing.
Aslan was wearing an old-school Yankees hat in the Moscow metro. He said he likes ”concrete jungles” like NY and Moscow, not baseball, a game he said he doesn’t understand.
Karen, a Tajik migrant working in Volgograd.
Anton, 30, sporting a Brooklyn hat, in the center of Moscow as he was on the way to the gym. An actor and dancer, the Novosibirsk native has traveled around Europe and US to take part in various performances. He has also put on his own theatrical show titled ‘Hamlet’s Body.’
Anna, 20, was walking in Gorky Park. She is from Belarus, but studies in Moscow.
Nastya, 24, wearing a Brooklyn t-shirt at the Nashestvie rock concert in Tver region.
Anton, 23, was exiting a Moscow metro station wearing a Bronx hat. He said he was an artist.
Yulia, dressed in a NYC shirt, was leaving the rocky Sochi beach at dusk with her friend. She said she was an architect and had worked on Olympic-related projects. With post-Olympic work in Sochi coming to an end, she said she would be heading back soon to St Petersburg.
Zhenya, a dancer and DJ from Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia, was visiting a tattoo convention in Moscow when I saw him. He had just gotten a tattoo on his upper left arm. Zhenya said he bought his Brooklyn bikers cap in NYC last year during a work trip.
Artem, 39, dressed in a Brooklyn hat and shirt, runs a clothing store in St. Petersburg called Brooklyn.
He was hanging out at a tiny cafe in the center of Moscow in his New York t-shirt. He said he moved here from Pridnestrovie, a breakaway republic wedged btw Moldova and Ukraine because he saw no future for himself there. He said he dreamed of a career in the music industry.
The career machinist on the left, about 80 years old, was wearing a Brooklyn hat while standing at an outdoor market in Elista.
Anton, 28, was walking along the Moscow River in his Bronx shirt. He said he lived in New York for about 3 years, delivering pizza, riding a rickshaw and working at Zara and H&M.
This woman in Elista was walking with her niece. She said she worked for the local housing authority.
Murat was shopping at the outdoor market in Elista in his NYC shirt. He said he came from Uzbekistan to work in Elista.
Dasha and Lena were sitting on a bench under a big tree on an overcast day in the southern town of Stavropol, relaxing and chating as their summer vacation neared an end. Lena, an economics student, said she bought her New York sweater while on vacation in Italy.
Alexei, wearing a NYC t-shirt, said his family’s Moscow roots go back to the time of Ivan the Great in the 16th century.
He was in the metro station heading home with friends when I noticed the cool Brooklyn hat. He said he plays basketball and bought the hat in Miami. I asked him to step outside the station to take the photo as the light was a bit better. He was a bit reluctant, but agreed. As I got my camera ready, this girl ran over and jumped into the photo, causing him to smile. She then ran off just as fast into the metro. He must have been 6’3″ – you can see that she is on her tippy toes and still a few inches shorter than him.
He was hanging out in the center of Stravropol in the south of Russia. He said he was studying medicine and will work as a paramedic.
Zhenya, a loan officer for Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, was walking in the southern city Stavropol this summer in his Brooklyn shirt.
Anna was wearing a Harlem shirt as she walked with her boyfriend in Sochi. They had driven seven hours by car from the home town for the weekend.
Toma, in a black NYC shirt, was working with a friend on the Sochi boardwalk, where they draw temporary tattoos and make hair braids. A hardrock fan, she said she grew up in Moscow, but moved with her family to Sochi, which has a large Armenian diaspora. She said she had Armenian heritage.
Andrei, in his NYC shirt, was selling souvenirs near the top of Mount Akhun, which offers a panoramic view of Sochi. His girlfriend Alexandra joined him on this slow business day in late August. The highschool students met in their Sochi neighborhood and said they enjoy the same type of music
Roma, 15, who lives in Moscow region, was wearing his Brooklyn Bridge shirt as he visited the Olympic Ski Resort Roza Khutor in Sochi with his family. His dad said Roma may want to serve in the armed forced when he is older, adding it has become “prestigious” again to do so.
The young man on the left in the NYC shirt and his uncle come from a small village on the shore of Lake Issyk Kul in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. The young man said he graduated with a law degree, but as there were no jobs at home, came to Russia. He said he worked 2.5 years on Yamal Peninsual, Russia’s main gas producing region, which lines on the Arctic circle. He loved the region’s nature, but found it tough to bear -45c. Now he works as a cashier in Moscow and says he is satisfied with the work and pay.
Kamil, 18, (center) was wearing a Brooklyn Nets outfit (sweater and pants) as he walked along the Caspian Sea in Dagestan. He said he plays volleyball while finishing up an auto polytechnic institute.
Kseniya, a pop rock singer, wearing a Brooklyn Bridge shirt at the Nashestvie rock concert.
Anna, 28, is from Cherepovets. She is wearing a NYC shirt at the Nashestvie music festival.
Ivan, 18, is studying to be an industrial engineer.
Mitya, 18, is a guitarist and singer in a band. He was wearing a Brooklyn hat.
Vitali was walking with his children and wife at Gorky Park in his NYC shirt.
Victor, 25, was wearing a green New York hat as he waited for a girl inside the metro.
Andrei, 19, was wearing a Bronx, NYC sweater, as he sat with a friend at a Moscow park. He just finished his mandatory army service.
This couple was walking in the center of Ulan-Ude in Siberia.
Sultan wearing his Bronx hat in Makhachkala in Dagestan.
Konstantin, 16, practices dubstep dancing in Chita. He watches videos of Marcus Scott on youtube.
Ilya said his wife bought him the Yankees hat during a trip to NYC. A Russian TV serial maker, Ilya said he has been to LA.
This young man was wearing a Harlem shirt while walking around VDNKh Park with friends.
Nastya, 16, was hanging out with friends in St. Petersburg.
Lera, 15 (right), was sporting a Yankees winter hat as she walked on a coldy, sunny day with her friend Nastya along a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Moscow River. A highschool student, Lera said she “loves to draw everything”, a hobby she said both her parents enjoy as well. She said she may pursue design in university.
He was walking down Old Arbat street in Moscow recently wearing an NYC winter hat. He said he just finished his mandatory Russian military service and was trying to figure out what to do next. He added he would like to become an actor.
Jamshid, a native of Uzbekistan, was heading into theMoscow metro to meet a friend.
Albert, a 3rd year economics student, works part-time as a salesman for Russian clothing chain 21Shop on Old Arbat. The chain sells a mixture of colorful Russian and foreign ‘street style’ clothing and accessorites, including this schoolbag with ‘Brooklyn’ written on the straps
Kristina, 14, a Russian by nationality, grew up in Finland but just moved to St. Petersburg.
Nikita, 16, is a Moscow highschool student and future engineer. He was standing outside one of Moscow’s major rail stations wearing a Staten Island shirt. He said he bought it because he liked the color and it had New York written on it.
This young man was hanging out with friends at a park in Makhachkala, Dagestan dressed in his New York shirt.
Batyr, 24, was wearing his New York hat as he played music outside a shopping center in Ulan-Ude, Siberia.
He was walking around Rostov in his NYC winter hat, a friend at his side. They were both high, but he was rather coherent, his friend wasn’t. He said he couldn’t have his face photographed as it might cause him problems. He called himself a ‘Rostov Crocodile,’ but I had no idea what he was talking about.
Ilya, 12, was sporting a Yankees hat as he walked the streets of Samara with his friends. He said he was half Moroccan and moved to Russia with his mom when his parents divorced.
Alexander was attending the Scarlett Sails celebration in St. Petersburg wearing his Brooklyn shirt and New Jersey hat.
Kostya, 16 (right), said he writes trap music. He was hanging out on along the Neva River in St. Petersburg around 2am.
This high school student lives in Kemerevo, a coal-mining town in Siberia, but was in Ulyanovsk on the Volga for a sporting event. He said he bought the hat in Sweden.
He just moved to Moscow from Vladivostok to be with a girl. He said he was working at the moment as a courier and had just dropped off goods to a man outside a metro station.
Stanislav, 16, (left) lives in a small town on Sakhalin Island. He wants to leave for the Russian mainland to become a police officer.
Alik was born in Kyrgyzstan, but followed his dad to the Russian island of Sakhalin because there are no jobs at home. He said he has Russian citizenship and dreams of buying a home on Sakhalin.
Boris is a barber in Rostov. He said his girlfriend was currently in New York, working as a model.
Three-four years ago, you rarely saw females in Russia on skateboards. Shoes, not sneakers, were the footwear of choice then. Once sneakers became fashioable, skateboarding was bound to take off. This young girl was riding a longboard in front of the Hermitage dressed in an NY shirt.
Denis, 25, is a cook in St. Petersburg. He grew up in Petrozavodsk north of St. Petersburg.
Sergei, 18, was skateboarding with friends in front of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg in his NY hat. When he isn’t skating near the Hermitage, he is studying at a culinary school.
High school students outside a St. Petersburg shopping center. Shirts with New York + a double-digit number higher than 59 are popular.
Alexei was wearing a NYC shirt under an apron as he made coffee at a Moscow cafe.
Alfred, 26, was exiting Red Square around sunset time sporting a sweater that read ‘Brooklyn.’ He said he was visiting Moscow from the town of Kazan and described himself as an artist.
Denis, 28, said he grew up in Saratov, but now lives in St. Petersburg. He was walking around Nizhny Novgorod in a Coney Island shirt.
Oleg, 18, was walking around Nizhny Novgorod on a Sunday wearing a Brooklyn, New York shirt. He said he was studying construction.
Ksenia, 22, was wearing a NY hat at the Alfa Future People concert. A Muscovite, Ksenia works for a construction company.
A cook from Nizhny Novgorod, he was making burgers at the Alfa Future People concert while wearing a Brooklyn hat.
Ayrat, 20, lives in Kazan, Tatarstan, where he studies construction. He was waring a New York City shirt at the Alfa Future People concert.
Maxim, 22, is a machinist from Nizhny Novgorod. He was playing freebie at the Alfa Future People concert in his Staten Island shirt.
Alexei, 23, was wearing a Brooklyn shirt at the Alfa Future People concert. He lives in Perm in the Urals and works as a furniture designer.
Tigran, 16, was working outside a mall in Nizhny Novgorod sporting a NYC sweater. The ethnic Armenian said he has family in the US.
This young man was wearing a NYC sweater while attending the Alfa Future People concert. He said he was born and raised in Chelyabinsk, but moved to Novosibirsk to study Chemistry.
This young man was walking through the tent area at the Alfa Future People concert.
Three girls walking to the Alfa Future People concert, the girl on the right in a New York shirt.
A Russian girl showing off her New York City t-shirt at the Alfa Future People concert.
Kirill, 25, a programmer, and Anastasia were attending the Alfa Future People concert outside Nizhny Novgorod. Kirill was wearing a sweater with New York written on it.
Ilya, 28, was standing outside a Moscow metro station in his Staten Island shirt. The Internet store owner said he bought it at New Yorker store chain.
Maxim, 20 and a university student, was walking with his friend Arseni in Gorky Park on an early Friday evening dressed in a New York t-shirt. Maxim said the image of a dynamic city that is strong in the arts comes to mind when he hears the word New York. Maxim, who hasn’t yet visited New York, would like to check out Broadway Street.
This teenager was rollerblading while at Gorky Park on a sunny Friday evening wearing a New York t-shirt. He said the TV serial Californication comes to mind when he thinks of New York.
Tanya was visiting a Moscow park wearing a Rockaway Beach, NYC t-shirt. She said she bought it at a ‘GAP’ store in Moscow. Many popular chains like H&M, Zara, New Yorker and GAP – to name just a few – have been selling ‘New York’ related t-shirts and hats.
Sasha, 17, was working a bike rental stand at a park in Moscow while wearing his Brooklyn New York shirt.
Svetlana, 29, was exiting the metro with friends right by Red Square wearing a Brooklyn t-shirt. A native of Saransk, a town 630 kilometers east of Moscow, Svetlana says she now works in banking in Moscow. She said images of skyscrapers, wide streets and shopping centers comes to mind when she thinks of New York.
Dasha, 19, was drinking Starbucks coffee with a friend in the center of Moscow. The chemistry student was dressed in a Queens, New York City t-shirt that she bought at Pull & Bear in Moscow.
Yana, from St. Petersburg, and Yana, from Moscow, were beating the heat with cold Starbucks drinks when I noticed Yana (left) wearing a Williamsburg shirt. It could be Williamsburg, VA, but considering the trend in NYC shirts, I would bet the designer had Williamsburg, Brooklyn in mind. Yana and Yana met in Greece last year during their summer vacation. Yana (left) came to Moscow to visit her new friend.
Exactly two years ago – end of July/beginning of August 2013 – I walked home from work on a sunny evening, crossing Red Square. As I made the 30 minute walk, I passed three people wearing Brooklyn shirts. I had also seen one earlier that day at lunch as well. That is when I initally got the idea to start such a portrait project. Nearly two years to that day, I again found myself crossing Red Square on a sunny evening. I saw at least four people wearing NY-related shirts while there, including Anastasia, a 25 year-old from Yekaterinburg in the Urals. Anastasia said she was in Moscow for business and about to head to the airport to fly back home. She said she works in clothing retail, specifically mentioning Nike products. She was sitting, posing for a photo in her Brooklyn shirt from H&M when I passed her. I asked her if I could also take her photo for my photo project and agreed. When I got ready to take the photo, she made this pose.
Vladimir was wearing a Bronx, NYC t-shirt as he walked along Ul. Pravda in Moscow. The 28 year-old said he worked in the hotel business.
Andrei, 35, was relaxing along Vorobyovskaya Naberezhnaya in Moscow after a ride on his chopper bicycle. He was wearing a Yankees hat.
Dima, 31, was wearing a NYC t-shirt as he waited for the metro at Vorobyovi Gori in Moscow. Raised in Kiev, Ukraine, Dima works for Volkswagen in Germany. He has just finished his stint at Volkswagen’s facilities in Russia and was on his way back to Germany the following day.
Magomed, 26, was relaxing on Red Square sporting sunglasses and a New York baseball cap. He said he grew up in Krasnodar region and moved to Moscow about 5 years ago to study construction engineering.
When Vaso, 28, told me he was a pediatrician, I didn’t believe him at first. The 28 year-old, who grew up in the Georgian Repubic, was wearing a Brooklyn T-shirt.
Miroslav, 22, was sporting a shirt with the statue of liberity. He works in an oil company and said one of his dreams is to visit New York, which may happen in the autumn. He said Central Park comes to mind when he hears the word New York.
Alexander, 29, designs sunglass and hats using wood. He lives in St. Petersburg. He was wearing a Brooklyn shirt.
Elena and Vladislav, 20, were taking pictures of the Kremlin from a footbridge. Elena is from Sochi and would like to move to Moscow. Vladislav grew up in Volgograd and moved several years ago to Moscow, where he works as a barman.
Ivan, 18, was walking outside the Vegas shopping center at the edge of Moscow. He said he wants to study history and that his favorite period from from 1933 to 1945.
Alina, 14, and Andrei, 17, returning from parkour practice.
Leila, 16, in front of the Hermitage Museum.
May 9 Victory Day parade in Kaliningrad
Vladislav, 22 and a programmer, grew up in Norilsk and moved to St. Petersburg.
Danil, 17, with his girlfriend in the center of St. Petersburg
Watching a street performance in St. Petersburg.
Alexander and Anna in their New York hats on St. Petersburg ‘hipster’ street Rubenshtein. Their dog Kitty doesn’t have a NY hat yet.
Timur, sporting a Brooklyn hat, and his friend Timur from Ukraine.
Garik recently moved to St. Petersburg from Novosibirsk. He sells tickets for Neva boat rides.
Danil, 16, wants to become a linguist. He watch the New Year’s celebration on Times Square through city web camera. He thinks that life in New York is more difficult than movies have you believe.
Ilya, half Korean, is majoring in religious studies at university. He hopes to become a pastor.
Dima, half Tajik, standing in front of the Central Asian restaurant that we labors at.
