Back in February of 2007, a time that now seems so so far away…I took the opportunity to look at the world I remembered as a child through the eyes of an adult. I faced the relics of the past in the present. I learned that as I grew up thousands miles away, Moscow grew with me. Today we’re very different, yet the core pieces of our soul-the same.

I met relatives and spent time with friends, who made me feel like I had never even left. I set foot on the playground, I yearned for all these years. I navigated the subway and reunited with the heart of the city. I saw the sad stares of homeless dogs and sensed their warm breath on my legs as I walked past, wanting to stay and hug them all. I hugged the pure white beauty of the birch tree. I felt the solace of a quiet cemetery in the sparkling snow. I saw what money could buy and things that it could never fix. I saw extreme sickness, poverty and wealth. I experienced the simple beauty that lies in modest living. I breathed in the humanity and savagery of it all. I remembered what freedom; safety and security really feel like. I remembered that I left as a little girl, lost; but I came back as a woman who is smarter, stronger, bolder and braver. I remembered who I was all along. So, thank you all for your support and encouragement as I made the decision to go back after 15 years.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Images by Julia Zave