Maria Muzdybaeva

Maria Muzdybaeva

Maria Muzdybaeva is Senior Operations Manager at Calvert 22 Foundation. She holds an MA degree in European & Russian Studies from Yale University, where her research focused on Comparative Literature and Film. You can read her creative work on her website.

Skateboarding in Shambala: photos from a whirlwind summer ride through Russia’s alpine lakes and Siberian borderlands

Exploration

Skateboarding in Shambala: photos from a whirlwind summer ride through Russia’s alpine lakes and Siberian borderlands

Herbarium: a Moscow exhibition explores tenderness through Russian photography

Culture

Herbarium: a Moscow exhibition explores tenderness through Russian photography

‘I have two dads:’ read an extract from a Russian coming-of-age novel about a child raised by gay parents

Portfolio

‘I have two dads:’ read an extract from a Russian coming-of-age novel about a child raised by gay parents

On alienation: 7 Russian artists explore the relationship between our bodies and technology

Culture

On alienation: 7 Russian artists explore the relationship between our bodies and technology

The Myth of a Tech Body: open call for contemporary artists launched by Russian gallery Anna Nova

Culture

The Myth of a Tech Body: open call for contemporary artists launched by Russian gallery Anna Nova

Doomsday disco: why Belarusian band Molchat Doma is more than just a TikTok meme

Music

Doomsday disco: why Belarusian band Molchat Doma is more than just a TikTok meme

5 projects from Moscow’s International Biennale for Young Art that capture the zeitgeist of 2020

Culture

5 projects from Moscow’s International Biennale for Young Art that capture the zeitgeist of 2020

Married to art: Asya Zaslavskaya on inspiration and commitment in the creative process

Portfolio

Married to art: Asya Zaslavskaya on inspiration and commitment in the creative process

From Kanye to Kendrick: 10 hip-hop tracks you didn’t know used samples from Eastern Europe

Music

From Kanye to Kendrick: 10 hip-hop tracks you didn’t know used samples from Eastern Europe

Home truths: finding the intimate and personal in Moscow’s mundane housing blocks

Exploration

Home truths: finding the intimate and personal in Moscow’s mundane housing blocks

This Skype photo series shows hope still blooms in locked down Moscow

Exploration

This Skype photo series shows hope still blooms in locked down Moscow

‘We don’t have a hero yet’: the LGBTQ and feminist activists fighting for liberation in the Caucasus

Culture

‘We don’t have a hero yet’: the LGBTQ and feminist activists fighting for liberation in the Caucasus

Strange and beautiful: 4 new Ukrainian films you won’t want to miss

Film

Strange and beautiful: 4 new Ukrainian films you won’t want to miss

‘We want to tell stories which reflect Ukrainian identity.’ A new film company launches in Kyiv

Film

‘We want to tell stories which reflect Ukrainian identity.’ A new film company launches in Kyiv

Celebrating the gay Russian celebrities history books tried to erase

Self

Celebrating the gay Russian celebrities history books tried to erase

Delve into the outlandish universe of Alisa Gorshenina, redefining rural identity in the Russian Urals

Portfolio

Delve into the outlandish universe of Alisa Gorshenina, redefining rural identity in the Russian Urals

The Watchlist: Aquarela is an impressive testimony of the indomitable forces of nature

Exploration

The Watchlist: Aquarela is an impressive testimony of the indomitable forces of nature

The women directors who led the Soviet Union’s silent movie era

Film

The women directors who led the Soviet Union’s silent movie era

‘You pay a price for being unconventional’: Filmmaker Lado Kvataniya on the political power of music videos

Self

‘You pay a price for being unconventional’: Filmmaker Lado Kvataniya on the political power of music videos

Balcony raves are the latest viral challenge from Russia with some serious techno beats

Culture

Balcony raves are the latest viral challenge from Russia with some serious techno beats

5 Eastern European creatives trailblazing the world of digital art

Portfolio

5 Eastern European creatives trailblazing the world of digital art

Tatar Baroque: one artist is transforming Russian fairytales into daring contemporary fashion

Person of interest

Tatar Baroque: one artist is transforming Russian fairytales into daring contemporary fashion

The Watchlist: Kantemir Balagov’s film Closeness is a gripping tale of an outsider at the edge of Russia

Self

The Watchlist: Kantemir Balagov’s film Closeness is a gripping tale of an outsider at the edge of Russia

Meet the photographic talent that call Siberia home | Part II

Portfolio

Meet the photographic talent that call Siberia home | Part II

Meet the photographic talent that call Siberia home | Part I

Portfolio

Meet the photographic talent that call Siberia home | Part I

How one Russian rock concert transformed into an international movement against domestic abuse

Music

How one Russian rock concert transformed into an international movement against domestic abuse

Meet the Kazakh boxing champ mixing self-defence classes with legal help for women

Person of interest

Meet the Kazakh boxing champ mixing self-defence classes with legal help for women

Russian and feminist: how a new generation of activists are fighting for their rights

Photography

Russian and feminist: how a new generation of activists are fighting for their rights

The Watchlist: Kirill Serebrennikov’s The Student is a dark teen drama about religious fanaticism

Film

The Watchlist: Kirill Serebrennikov’s The Student is a dark teen drama about religious fanaticism

This remote Russian village is creating a new eco-friendly collection for IKEA

Design

This remote Russian village is creating a new eco-friendly collection for IKEA

Introducing the 10 most anticipated New East films you need to watch in 2020

Film

Introducing the 10 most anticipated New East films you need to watch in 2020

Estonia greenlights new dedicated visa for digital nomads

Business

Estonia greenlights new dedicated visa for digital nomads

St Petersburg’s Pushkin theme park will bring Russia’s greatest fairytales to life

Literature

St Petersburg’s Pushkin theme park will bring Russia’s greatest fairytales to life