Photo story: 8 of Natasha 35 was born in Arkhangelesk, northern Russia, has had various jobs since the age of She has had problems with alcohol addiction, and has been working in the sex industry for 12 years. After recent gynecological operation, she rested only several weeks before having to work again to pay for medication and rent. Asya 30 moved to St Petersburg from Vladivostok in After dropping out of a course in mechanical engineering and going through a number of jobs, she ended up working as a janitor.
Because the pay was so low, she sought work in the sex trade. Alice 27 is a single mother who has been working in the sex industry for ten years, after dropping out of a fashion design course at college. She has frequently experienced police raids, criminal attacks, and violence from clients. Alena 33 was born in Ukraine and raised in an orphanage.
She moved from Donetsk to St Petersburg after the war in Ukraine, thinking that she was being offered work as an administrator in a brothel, only to find that the job was as a sex worker.
Lacking any other financial support, she has worked in the sex industry for five years, after being recommended to it by a friend. Lily 25 is a divorced single mother with one child, and has a degree in production management. When the couple separated and he refused to pay back the loan, Lily started work in a brothel to meet the payments, and also to buy food and pay the rent.
Zhenya 37 is a single mother with a degree in sports management. She has worked in the sex industry since , when she was left with no financial support following her divorce. Maya 24 was born in Bashkortostan, part of the Russian Federation, and after graduating with a qualification in sociology held numerous jobs before moving to St Petersburg, where she began work in a sex shop.
