RealAudio: A photographer has obligations to the subject...

Moscow, Russia, 1996. Nina and Misha Petrakov read the only newspaper to which they still subscribe since quadruple digit inflation slashed the value of their government pension. Together the couple (she a retired accountant, he a retired scientist) receive a pension that equals half the average wage. They took ownership of their Moscow apartment, but the skyrocketing costs for gas, electricity, and water strain their modest budget. Pensioners, a quarter of Moscow’s  population, are among those least able to adapt to the new Russia.