Meet the Puteens - From Russia with youth

I GREW up in a village called Molochniy. My mom had me when she was only 17, so I lived with my grandma. There’s only one street and a few houses there. There was a monument at the entrance to town, you drove up the hill, and our house was the first one on the right next to a shop. I remember my grandma sitting in the evenings and talking to a woman called Irina. She would bring me toys and I would sit on the bed holding my toys, with my dog nearby. The room smelled of oranges.

When I was almost six, I moved to Murmansk to live with my mom because my younger brother was born. I skated a lot as a kid. Now I’m 18—I can’t be skating, I don’t have time for that. Sometimes I look at my board though, like, damn, maybe I should just go ride a bit. Murmansk has a strong skate culture. We’ve got a lot of BMXers, skaters, rollerbladers. I’ve also got a snowskate for winter. It’s the same as a skateboard, only without wheels. The tricks are tougher to do, but it’s possible.

Before, I had long hair, some emo bullshit. But now I understand I need to be more focused and serious. You won’t get the job you want with pink hair. I mean, you can get the job first, prove yourself, and then dye your hair pink or whatever colour.

My friends call me Alex, or Lee for short. American-style. My crew is all into that. We’ve got some kids from Canada, someone from London, even a girl from Greece. They’re from Russian families that came back here.

There’s one kid in class who’s only for Russia, and always talks about how crap America is. I’m like: look man, you’re wearing clothes from America. I don’t get why we have to be at each other’s throats. The country’s at peace now, chill out and enjoy it.

In terms of life here and politics, I’m basically happy with everything. Only the rising prices bother me. But crises happen from time to time. I’m 18, so I should worry about elections, but I already know who’s going to win, there’s no point in it.

I’m not against someone else ruling, but there aren’t any other candidates who could actually take on Russia and run it. So fuck it! Let the guy who can do it, do it.

I want to become an architect, and I will become one. I’m the kind of person who if I want to do something, I’ll find a way to. I never prepare for tests. I just turn up, read the book quickly, talk about the stuff, and get straight A’s. Everyone calls me a cheater, but it works for me.

The most important thing in life now, in the 21st century, is self-confidence. If you’re not confident, then society will just swallow you up and make you part of the masses. If you’re confident, you’ll never be humiliated. You’ll always be like: here I am, love me or leave me.

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