Category: My Story

It’s hard to believe I’ve been on LinkedIn since June 2005. This makes it my longest-used account on any social network, with Twitter and Facebook following much later. It seems like a lifetime ago, yet I still recall certain aspects of those early days. In 2005, I launched my first stand-alone blog, focusing primarily on… Read More My Early Digital Ventures

In late 1989, a kindergarten teacher, who seemed to aspire to be a political commissar, scolded me for decorating my pencil box with drawings of cartoon tanks. “You must not deface property,” she admonished. When I protested that the box was indeed mine, she countered by asserting that personal ownership was not permissible and that… Read More My Soviet Awakening

In February 2010, Ilya Ponomarev, then a member of the Russian parliament, brought a group of American diplomats and Silicon Valley moguls to Novosibirsk. I met Howard Solomon and Esther Dyson and even had a beer with Jack Dorsey and Ashton Kutcher. I was hopeful back then. Visits like this showed the advantages of cooperation… Read More When Silicon Valley Came to Russia

2023 has been a busy year for me:

Ten years ago today, I attended Euromaidan (and listened to my favourite Mykola Hnatyuk at the pro-Yanukovych concert). Looking at the photos now, they seem like ancient Egyptian papyri: not just reminders of the past but messages from a different civilization.

Today, I turn 40. Coincidentally, it’s been almost a year since I made London my home and a year and a half since I bid farewell to Russia. So, how did I mark this year? I reached out to those in need, shared my experience, gave advice, and penned a few decent pieces. I delved… Read More My 40