I was born in Leningrad, Russia. I am a writer and a photographer. I am also the author of a number of books and scholarly and journal articles. I started photography in 2002. In 2005 after the publication of my book about Vladimir Putin I received threats from the Russian authorities, so I moved to the United States. Now I am Center Associate at Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. I have had four solo exhibitions: "The end of two epochs: Bush and Putin." Davis Center at Harvard University, Cambridge, 2008. “America. Faces of States. " Museum of Modern Renaissance. Boston, 2010. Russian Geography: Rivers. Art Gallery "Borey". St. Petersburg. 2012. "Academy of Russian Rubbish". Information and Cultural Mayakovsky Center of Art and Music. St. Petersburg, 2012. My main subject are the homeless people and people at the bottom of the societal ladder. I worked in different countries: I started photography in Russia and continued in the USA.