Olga was born one year after the collapse of the USSR, but she witnessed both scarcity and communal living. Optimism and creativity have served her well.

Leo started traveling as a young man. Upon emigrating, he traveled around the world twice, and has been to 120 countries. At 84, he yearns for more.

In which we meet Oksana, Russian millennial and cook. She shares childhood memories of a surprisingly abundant 90s, and her favorite snack: the "Jewish" zakuska.

Polina Chesnakova's family moved from Russia to Georgia, then from Georgia to Ukraine, and to the US. A cookbook author and cooking instructor, Chesnakova keeps her family traditions alive through cooking and baking, and inspiring others.

Tuyana loves being a doctor. But she has a passion for pozy – steamed dumplings rooted in Buryatia that are shaped like a yurt.

Raised between classy Moscow and a farm in Krasnodar region, Elena Manienan learned a few things from both her grandmothers and is spreading the love at her remote hotel and eco-village.

Anton Morozov grew up on potatoes and seaweed in the hungry ’90s. He still eats seaweed every day, and now has turned many Russians onto it.
 

Growing up in post-Soviet Russia can make you crave anything foreign. Here is how a salad helped a Russian millennial develop a taste for her own culture.