My Son Smells Like Caramel

Text by Svetlana Li (a pseudonym)
Photos by Vladimir Sevrinovsky
Translation by Kat Tancock
This article originally appeared in Glasnaya

In the summer of 2024, blogger Alyona Kapustyan, who is fully deaf-blind, and sightless massage therapist Islomiddin Barotov had a son – who can see and hear. Here’s how she, a poet, and he, an athlete, are building a family and undermining stereotypes about relationships and parenthood among people with disabilities.

It’s overcast outside, and the light is on in 26-year-old Alyona’s kitchen. True, she doesn’t need it: she completely lost her sight at six due to illness and an operation. But once, as a child, Alyona got up during the night to get a drink of water. She didn’t turn the light on and accidentally gave her mother quite a fright when they crashed into one another in the dark. Ever since, Alyona has acquired the habit of flicking the switch – for her mother, for guests, and now also for her son, Ruslan.