The legendary project Humans of New York told the stories of Russians and Ukrainians

Photo: Humans of New York

Project Humans of New York It began in 2010 year as a group in Facebook, which collects photos of New Yorkers, and makes up a kind of photo album of the faces of this city. The goal of the creator of the initiative was to collect 10 thousands of photos. But over time, the author of the project began to conduct short interviews with his models in order to learn a little about their lives, complementing the pictures with short vivid quotes of the people depicted in them.

Since 2012, the project has expanded, and now the author collects stories of residents of cities in more than twenty different countries of the world.

Now the project already has over 20 million subscribers in social networks and has its own broker.

We collected the tragic and touching stories of Russians and Ukrainians, told by Humans of New York.

1. “My mother, who lost her entire family during the siege of the city, had to see St. Petersburg before her death.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“My mother was 16 when the war came to St. Petersburg. She was the eldest of four children, so her parents decided to evacuate her first. She had to find a job and the rest of the family would follow. She was evacuated with the factory workers. The workers were in one boat, and the equipment was in another. The boat with the equipment was bombed and sank. My mother found herself in a city thousands of kilometers away from her home. Sometimes there was so little food that she survived by eating grass. But everyone who remained in St. Petersburg died. In one night, her entire family was killed. She always told us about St. Petersburg. She hung pictures of the city all over our house.

Photo: Humans of New York

So we wanted to get her there before she died. When we arrived in town, we went straight to her old house, of which only the foundation remained. But when we arrived at the metro stop, a very strange thing happened. Two children came up to us, their mother called them: “Sonya and Misha!” They had the same names as me and my brother. It was as if they were welcoming us,” said a woman from St. Petersburg.

2. “I understood the problems of adult life too early”

Photo: Humans of New York

“I can’t live the life that 17-year-olds usually live. My mother works full-time, and I have a six-year-old brother whom I need to look after. So I have to do everything that a mother usually does. I take him to kindergarten, pick him up, feed him, clean up after him. I have no way to take a break from this. I can't play sports after school. I cannot receive additional training or attend courses. But it's not my mom's fault. She's trying to save money so I can get a higher education. She tells me every day that I am a wonderful daughter. But this is very difficult for me. The good thing is that I learned to understand adult problems. I don't take anything for granted and I know life isn't easy. It seems to me that my friends don't study to gain knowledge, they study to get pocket money. So I think I'm more mature than most seventeen year olds. But sometimes I want to take care of myself a little. Or maybe for someone to finally take care of me,” said a girl from Moscow.

3. “My daughter lives in a ghost world.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“My daughter was injured at birth. Her back was broken during childbirth. She has already turned thirty years old, but she still has many problems, especially in her head. She can't be left alone. Sometimes she doesn't even know where she is. One gets the impression that she lives in a world of ghosts. It was very difficult for us. My wife had to quit her job, which led to her developing depression. We can't travel. We can't be active. I try not to be indignant in front of my daughter, but sometimes it is very difficult. Sometimes she becomes very aggressive. A few years ago she threw all our things out the window. I don't think many people could handle this. We were offered to send her to a special institution, but I cannot do this. These places are very scary. But my wife and I are getting old. We have no other relatives. Therefore, one day she will have to end up in such an institution. I try not to think about it. But this is inevitable,” a man from St. Petersburg, Russia, shared his grief.

4. “I hated the whole world to love you more”

Photo: Humans of New York

“She needed people around us, and I didn’t understand that. I was fixated on the two of us. One Russian writer once wrote: “I hated the whole world so that I could love you more.” It's about me. I stopped talking to my old friends. I no longer spent time with my colleagues from work. And I wanted her to do the same. Maybe I was jealous. She was much younger than me, so I felt insecure. I think I was rude sometimes. I asked her not to go to work parties. She left me 258 days ago. We just returned from a holiday by the sea and everything was fine. Everything was as always. We swam, drank wine, went to a cafe. I had no idea this would happen. One morning we were drinking coffee in the kitchen and she said, “I don’t love you anymore.” For two months after that I drank vodka. I lost thirty pounds (about 14 kg). Only now my wound is starting to heal. “I’m getting used to loneliness,” said the Muscovite.

5. “I want to be a kid a little longer.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“I'm fourteen years old, and all my friends are just crazy about wanting to be adults right now. They drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and behave vulgarly. They do everything to separate themselves from their parents and prove that they are independent. Personally, I would like to be a child a little longer. I like spending time with my parents. I'm in no hurry to run away. I would like this time to last as long as possible,” admitted the girl from St. Petersburg.

6. “A girl from the Internet, whom I have never met in person, has become my support and support for the past seven years.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“I came here to meet a girl I met on the Internet. She is coming from Belarus. Nothing intimate, just friendship. Her name is Olga. We have known each other for seven years, but this is the first time we will meet in person. She supported me during difficult times. I get bullied a lot at school, other students often call me names, try to pick fights with me, they send love letters to other guys on my behalf. Olga comforted me very much. She texts me regularly throughout the day. She says: “You don’t deserve this,” “Don’t pay attention to them.” Her messages really helped me get through the last few years, even if they were just words on the Internet,” said a guy from St. Petersburg.

7. “Start with what you have, not what you would like.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“I am ninety years old, but it seems to me that I am fifty. I don't take any medications. I never complain. I'm just happy to be alive. I tell people, “Start with what you have, not with what you wish you had.” Every day I dance for two hours. And I'm still very interesting. I love politics and literature. I love science. And I have a boyfriend named Alexander. We exchange books. I don’t even know how old he is,” said a woman from Moscow.

8. “Because of the difficult times they have experienced, all Russians are afraid to stop working hard.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“I quit my job this year and took some time to focus on myself. I worked from nine to six every day. I often took work home. I was sick, worried and slept very poorly. But I could never accept my weaknesses. I saw other people working harder than me, and I thought, “If they can do it, then why should I feel tired?” Eventually I put so much pressure on myself that I became depressed. One of the reasons why I couldn't slow down and relax is because my whole family works hard. Both my parents are architects. My grandfather is an engineer. The importance of hard work has been passed down through the generations in my family. I think the whole country is afraid to stop working. There have been so many difficult times. There was so much hunger there. Until now, we had to constantly work just to survive. Even though the situation has improved now, it is psychologically difficult to give up hard work. I have already started looking for a new job. But during interviews I ask different questions. Money is the last thing I worry about. I’m more interested in the schedule,” said a woman from St. Petersburg.

9. 'Two beautiful little people always look at me."

Photo: Humans of New York

“Two little beautiful people always look at me as if I am the most important person in the world. They copy everything I do, especially my son. I am very careful about how I treat my wife, because I understand that from this example he learns how to treat women. I call her affectionate names, and my son calls his sister the same words. I recently gave my wife flowers. And the next day, the son gave flowers to his sister,” a man from Moscow shared his experience of fatherhood.

10. “I dreamed of being an artist, but after the death of my daughter I decided to become a doctor.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“I was only eighteen years old when my first daughter was born. Her name was Svetlana. She had an infectious disease, but there were no antibiotics in the hospital. I begged doctors and nurses to tell me where I could buy them. But none of them told me anything because they were afraid of going to jail. Eventually I found American drugs on the black market. But weeks had passed and it was too late. The antibiotics didn't work and my daughter died. Until that moment, I dreamed of becoming an artist or dancer. But then I decided to become a doctor,” said a doctor from Moscow.

11. Happiness is in the little things

Photo: Humans of New York

— What is the strongest challenge you have faced recently?

“I adopted a boy about six months ago. He is three and a half years old and we have had difficulties with his behavior. If he were here now, he would be running around, tearing up plants and hitting things with sticks. He spent his entire life in an orphanage and was deprived of adult attention. The psychologist told us that this is the reason for his son’s actions.

— What was your happiest moment with your son?

“One morning I was standing in the kitchen, and he hugged me without my asking,” admitted a resident of Korzhi, Ukraine.

12. “In trying to help a friend, I lost my chance to become a pilot, but I was always proud of it.”

Photo: Humans of New York

“When I was young, my best friend and I took the pilot school exam. I knew all the answers, so I did everything quickly, but my best friend had problems with math. So I leaned over and tried to help him, but we both got caught and were automatically eliminated from the competition. I didn’t become a pilot, but I always felt good that I tried to help my friend become one,” admitted the resident of Korzhi, Ukraine.

13. “There is a way out of even the most terrible situations”

Photo: Humans of New York

“When I was fifteen years old, I was raped by three boys while I was participating in a gymnastics tournament. I was so ashamed that I stood on the track and waited for the train to come. At the last moment I tried to jump away. I woke up a month later. It was night, and I immediately felt that something was missing. I started feeling my body and realized that I had lost my arm. I now counsel teenagers who have been diagnosed with HIV. I usually meet with them first after they receive their test results. I’m trying to explain to them that there is a way out of even the most terrible situations,” said a resident of Odessa.

14. “Ukraine just needs peace”

Photo: Humans of New York

"Ukraine is so suffered a lot. We have lost so many people in war, famine and other historical events. Almost seven million Ukrainians were killed in World War II, more than any other country. We don't need much in this country. We are not imperialist people. We are not very militant. We have black soil, so we can grow everything we need. We just need peace,” says a resident of Baryshevka, Ukraine.

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