| When Alex and Halyna arrived at the Ukrainian border, a Russian agent looked at them like they were crazy. “Do you even know what’s going on there?” he asked.  Photograph by Mila Teshaieva for The New Yorker In a compelling dispatch from Ukraine, Masha Gessen follows the harrowing journey of a trio—a couple, Alex and Halyna, and Halyna’s mother—who left Moscow for Kharkiv a few weeks after the start of the Russian invasion. The piece, which is part of a series that Gessen will be publishing during the next few weeks, navigates the complexity of identity for those with connections to both Russia and Ukraine, along with the difficulties of life during wartime—food is scarce, and even buckwheat, once a staple, has become “a tradable commodity” in one town. Gessen also thoughtfully describes the personal decisions that the couple faces—an expensive top surgery, the desire to move to a place “where foreigners of the same sex could get married”—and portrays their relentless and at times hopeful pursuit of a better life together amid the turbulence of war. As Gessen writes, “Both are struck by their good luck at having found each other.” Help shape the future of the New Yorker app. Take a brief survey » | 
No comments:
Post a Comment