The Rijksmuseum’s halls were hushed despite the crowds. We moved slowly through the galleries, pilgrims paying homage to a master of light and silence. The Vermeer exhibition—the largest retrospective of his work ever assembled—has drawn visitors from across the world, all of us seeking something in these luminous, enigmatic canvases. What strikes me most about […]
Amsterdam, Vermeer Exhibition: Inspiration from Stillness Read More »
Winter break has afforded me the luxury of brief escapes from London’s familiar rhythms. Two contrasting journeys—one to Paris’s urban labyrinth, another to Dover’s stark coastal cliffs—have provided welcome perspective as I enter the final months of my master’s program at Imperial College. Paris in January possesses a particular melancholy beauty. The tourist crowds have
Paris & Dover: Short Winter Escapes Read More »
As summer yields to autumn, London undergoes its annual transformation. The light changes, acquiring a particular slant that renders familiar streets suddenly strange. Mornings arrive wrapped in fog, buildings emerging like ghosts as the day progresses. It’s in this liminal season that I’m pleased to share news of my second publication: “Туманные блики” (“Foggy Glimmers”)
Teaser: ‘Foggy Glimmers’ Read More »
My hands are trembling slightly as I type this – I finally have news to share! My story “Life on the Island” will soon be available to readers. After months of writing and rewriting, of doubt and conviction alternating like tides, this work is finally ready to make its way into the world. The feeling
Coming Soon: ‘Life on the Island’ Read More »
The Imperial College campus buzzes with academic energy, but my mind frequently wanders beyond its modern glass structures to the city that surrounds it. London in winter holds a particular kind of magic—a dance between shadow and illumination, history and innovation, belonging and alienation. As I navigate my first months of the Strategic Marketing program,
On London: A City of Contrasts Read More »
London is shrouded in November fog, dissolving the outlines of buildings and transforming the city into a space between reality and dream. On such days, you feel especially acutely how thin the line is between the material and the imagined. I write these lines sitting in a half-empty café near South Kensington—a district that will
Preparing for Major Changes Read More »
Yesterday I completed my final exam of this academic year. The university campus has emptied—students have scattered in all directions, while I remain alone with the silence of the library and my thoughts. In such moments, you feel especially acutely what freedom means and what price we pay to attain it. Outside, London is wrapped
Hymn to Freedom: A Short Poem for the Times Read More »
Hello, dear readers, still unknown to me. On the day of the spring equinox, when the balance between light and darkness is perfectly aligned, I’ve decided to start this blog. Symbolic, isn’t it? Balancing between opposites has always felt like a natural state to me—between Russian and English languages, between marketing and literature, between London
My Creative Prologue Read More »
The last day of this extraordinary year finds London once again in lockdown. From my window, I watch the Thames carry the fading light of 2020 toward the horizon. There’s something appropriate about ending this year in quietude, in this liminal space between what was and what might be. If someone had described this year
Year’s End Reflections: Poetry in Turbulent Times Read More »
This day, we gathered in the verdant embrace of Hyde Park, basking under an open sky to revel in the power of literature. Friends and kindred spirits joined me for an afternoon of shared reading and heartfelt discussion, diving into the theme of “Literature and Social Change.” With favorite poems, novels, and essays in hand,
Event: A Day of Words in Hyde Park Read More »
