While preparing to interview the Russian-born artists Alina and Jeff Bliumis, who live and work in New York, I involuntarily reflected on my own experience of living in exile. How did it happen that we, who are still young people, have already witnessed major historical shifts, including the rise and fall of regimes, ideologies, and personalities? These processes, which in the past took decades, swept through the vast terrain of what used to be Russia and Eastern Europe in less than 10 years. I wondered how this turmoil had affected us, and how we will deal with its implications in the future.
