https://yanapaskova.com/ 2026-03-16 weekly 1.0 https://yanapaskova.com/about-me 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://storage.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/DSCF9160.jpg https://storage.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Boiko.jpg https://yanapaskova.com/contact 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://storage.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/newspapers_mug.jpg https://yanapaskova.com/copyright 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/helping-women 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/where-women-rule 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/power-of-poo 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/25-years-after 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/communism-relived 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/cuba-bulgaria-layers 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_001.jpg This is my father's Army uniform (complete with a five-pointed star — the symbol of Communist rule,) worn during a mandatory two-year service in the Bulgarian military in the 1970s. It is superimposed with Cuban children wearing the uniform of Communist youth as they salute "Votó!" ("S/he voted!") to citizens casting ballots for delegates to the country's unicameral parliament. Voting is not a mandatory activity in Cuba, but frowned upon if not exercised. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. This is my father's Army uniform (complete with a five-pointed star — the symbol of Communist rule,) worn during a mandatory two-year service in the Bulgarian military in the 1970s. It is superimposed with Cuban children wearing the uniform of Communist youth as they salute "Votó!" ("S/he voted!") to citizens casting ballots for delegates to the country's unicameral parliament. Voting is not a mandatory activity in Cuba, but frowned upon if not exercised. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_002.jpg Second from left is a young me of the 1980s, wearing the Communist youth uniform mandatory for all school activities, and a young Cuban student wearing the same in front of an office for the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution.) The CDR is a network of neighborhood watch organizations peppered across Cuba, that report on any activity they deem counter-revolutionary or a threat to Communist rule. My grandfather spent 5 years of his youth in a Communist labor camp after one such organization noted his lack of participation in the party. Elementary schoolchildren in many Communist countries wear scarves as part of the uniform of the children’s Communist youth: blue or red, depending on their age. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Second from left is a young me of the 1980s, wearing the Communist youth uniform mandatory for all school activities, and a young Cuban student wearing the same in front of an office for the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution.) The CDR is a network of neighborhood watch organizations peppered across Cuba, that report on any activity they deem counter-revolutionary or a threat to Communist rule. My grandfather spent 5 years of his youth in a Communist labor camp after one such organization noted his lack of participation in the party. Elementary schoolchildren in many Communist countries wear scarves as part of the uniform of the children’s Communist youth: blue or red, depending on their age. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_003.jpg A sketch of a woman’s face decorates the view from my parents' college apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, toward ubiquitous and poorly maintained Soviet-style blocks, on a street that was then named The Red Rose — this, overlapped with similar Soviet-influenced architecture from the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Statistics label 7 out of every 10 Cuban houses in need of major repairs, with the province surrounding the capital requiring approximately 300,000 more inhabitable properties. Infrastructural decay increased especially after the collapse of Communism and the end of Soviet subsidies to both nations. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. A sketch of a woman’s face decorates the view from my parents' college apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, toward ubiquitous and poorly maintained Soviet-style blocks, on a street that was then named The Red Rose — this, overlapped with similar Soviet-influenced architecture from the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Statistics label 7 out of every 10 Cuban houses in need of major repairs, with the province surrounding the capital requiring approximately 300,000 more inhabitable properties. Infrastructural decay increased especially after the collapse of Communism and the end of Soviet subsidies to both nations. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_004.jpg My grandfather (center,) seen walking with Romanian and Bulgarian colleagues in Bulgaria in the 1970s as part of a mandatory work function. The banner in the background reads “Glory to the USSR.” And in Cuba, participants in the First of May Labor Day parade hold posters of Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and German Communist revolutionary Karl Marx. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. My grandfather (center,) seen walking with Romanian and Bulgarian colleagues in Bulgaria in the 1970s as part of a mandatory work function. The banner in the background reads “Glory to the USSR.” And in Cuba, participants in the First of May Labor Day parade hold posters of Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and German Communist revolutionary Karl Marx. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_005.jpg Propaganda fills the space that lack of advertising leaves on this Havana street: a sign for the Young Communist League, reading "Everything for the Revolution" stretches across a billboard next to the organization's motto "Estudio, Trabajo, Fusil" ("Study, Work, Rifle") and the likes of Cuban revolutionaries Julio Antonio Mella, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. While membership to the organization is described as voluntary — and selective, based on a clean record of pro-government only views — belonging to it is highly encouraged for any social and professional success. In the corner is a photo of my father reading a government-controlled newspaper titled “National Youth,” which, like all newspapers in pre-1989 Bulgaria, selectively reported news skewed in tone by Communist propagandist measures. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Propaganda fills the space that lack of advertising leaves on this Havana street: a sign for the Young Communist League, reading "Everything for the Revolution" stretches across a billboard next to the organization's motto "Estudio, Trabajo, Fusil" ("Study, Work, Rifle") and the likes of Cuban revolutionaries Julio Antonio Mella, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. While membership to the organization is described as voluntary — and selective, based on a clean record of pro-government only views — belonging to it is highly encouraged for any social and professional success. In the corner is a photo of my father reading a government-controlled newspaper titled “National Youth,” which, like all newspapers in pre-1989 Bulgaria, selectively reported news skewed in tone by Communist propagandist measures. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_006.jpg A bakery features a portrait of Cuba president Raúl Castro in the port city of Mariel, Cuba -- and a married couple poses for a picture under a portrait of former Bulgarian Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov. Zhivkov was the Totalitarian head of state of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, November 10, 1989, when he resigned under political pressure over the country's worsening economy, human rights repression, and public unrest. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. A bakery features a portrait of Cuba president Raúl Castro in the port city of Mariel, Cuba -- and a married couple poses for a picture under a portrait of former Bulgarian Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov. Zhivkov was the Totalitarian head of state of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, November 10, 1989, when he resigned under political pressure over the country's worsening economy, human rights repression, and public unrest. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_007.jpg My grandmother (center) and grandfather (second from right) walk alongside coworkers during the annual Labor Day march in Bulgaria in the 1970s. In the color photo, a man marching during during the 1st of May Labor Day March in Havana, Cuba, holds onto a makeshift Chilean flag. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. My grandmother (center) and grandfather (second from right) walk alongside coworkers during the annual Labor Day march in Bulgaria in the 1970s. In the color photo, a man marching during during the 1st of May Labor Day March in Havana, Cuba, holds onto a makeshift Chilean flag. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_008.jpg Because my grandfather refused to join a political party he'd seen seize villagers' property to repay them with imprisonment, violent threats, and beatings in the name of dementing the Communist ideal, he spent 5 tortured years of his youth locked within the brutality of Bulgaria’s Stalinist forced labor camps of the 1950s. Like many lucky survivors, he relished his post-1989 freedom to speak out against oppression, and in support of building a Democratic government as part of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union party -- after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought on the dissolution of Communism in the Soviet Bloc. In the Cuban half of this image, a tired participant in a march organized by the wives, friends, and relatives of imprisoned political dissidents rests by a tree in front of Santa Rita Church in Havana, Cuba. The political prisoner rights group, Damas de Blanco -- translated to Ladies in White -- endures regular beatings and detainment by both undercover and uniformed Cuban police of the Communist state. Many of their loved ones still languish, imprisoned -- and yet, they march. In Catholic countries, Saint Rita is known as the patroness of impossible causes, or of heartbroken women. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Because my grandfather refused to join a political party he'd seen seize villagers' property to repay them with imprisonment, violent threats, and beatings in the name of dementing the Communist ideal, he spent 5 tortured years of his youth locked within the brutality of Bulgaria’s Stalinist forced labor camps of the 1950s. Like many lucky survivors, he relished his post-1989 freedom to speak out against oppression, and in support of building a Democratic government as part of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union party -- after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought on the dissolution of Communism in the Soviet Bloc. In the Cuban half of this image, a tired participant in a march organized by the wives, friends, and relatives of imprisoned political dissidents rests by a tree in front of Santa Rita Church in Havana, Cuba. The political prisoner rights group, Damas de Blanco -- translated to Ladies in White -- endures regular beatings and detainment by both undercover and uniformed Cuban police of the Communist state. Many of their loved ones still languish, imprisoned -- and yet, they march. In Catholic countries, Saint Rita is known as the patroness of impossible causes, or of heartbroken women. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_009.jpg Bulgarians' longing to see lands beyond their closed borders festered in a social and economic vacuum during the Communist years. In the corner are a few American dollars on a desk at my parents' college apartment, on a street then bearing the name The Red Rose (a symbol of both the Communist revolution, and Bulgaria’s most famed export.) A Sofia store called Korekom that offered a rare glimpse of Western goods — cosmetics, technology, toys, candy, alcohol, cigarettes and magazines otherwise absent from Bulgaria's isolated market — motivated a strong black market demand for the U.S. dollar. Possession of it without government permission, however, left one open to government investigation, a marked dossier that sharply diminished employment opportunities, and worse, imprisonment in a forced labor camp. The foreground shows a girl in Mariel, Cuba, taking orders in a late-night pizza joint recalling American nostalgia, playing mostly U.S. music from the 1980s and 1990s. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Bulgarians' longing to see lands beyond their closed borders festered in a social and economic vacuum during the Communist years. In the corner are a few American dollars on a desk at my parents' college apartment, on a street then bearing the name The Red Rose (a symbol of both the Communist revolution, and Bulgaria’s most famed export.) A Sofia store called Korekom that offered a rare glimpse of Western goods — cosmetics, technology, toys, candy, alcohol, cigarettes and magazines otherwise absent from Bulgaria's isolated market — motivated a strong black market demand for the U.S. dollar. Possession of it without government permission, however, left one open to government investigation, a marked dossier that sharply diminished employment opportunities, and worse, imprisonment in a forced labor camp. The foreground shows a girl in Mariel, Cuba, taking orders in a late-night pizza joint recalling American nostalgia, playing mostly U.S. music from the 1980s and 1990s. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_010.jpg My father, grandfather and grandmother pose for a picture taken while traveling on one of very few government-approved vacations during the isolation of the Communist years in Bulgaria. And Raymel Medina, 16, (center,) relaxes with friends after an evening dip in the water in the port city of Mariel, Cuba. He says he'd like to learn more about the world, but internet of limited and/or prohibitively expensive access makes this a challenge. Travel outside of the island is also forbidden to most, except to those with government connections, or whose jobs allow it. I remember being young and just as curious about the world beyond the vacuum of Bulgaria's tight borders during the Communist years. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. My father, grandfather and grandmother pose for a picture taken while traveling on one of very few government-approved vacations during the isolation of the Communist years in Bulgaria. And Raymel Medina, 16, (center,) relaxes with friends after an evening dip in the water in the port city of Mariel, Cuba. He says he'd like to learn more about the world, but internet of limited and/or prohibitively expensive access makes this a challenge. Travel outside of the island is also forbidden to most, except to those with government connections, or whose jobs allow it. I remember being young and just as curious about the world beyond the vacuum of Bulgaria's tight borders during the Communist years. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_011.jpg This is the Cuban family (sister, nephews, and 93-year-old mother) of a man who fled from Cuba to Florida during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. The four have been separated from their uncle, son and brother for 35 years. It is blended with a faraway view of the Brandenburg Gate, as close as you could get from East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall — photographed during one of few vacations my grandparents and father were allowed to take in the Communist years. International travel was limited to pre-approved countries within the Eastern Bloc, while Western nations were only accessible via coveted government approval. The merging of these images speaks to both the need for and trauma of immigration. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. This is the Cuban family (sister, nephews, and 93-year-old mother) of a man who fled from Cuba to Florida during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. The four have been separated from their uncle, son and brother for 35 years. It is blended with a faraway view of the Brandenburg Gate, as close as you could get from East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall — photographed during one of few vacations my grandparents and father were allowed to take in the Communist years. International travel was limited to pre-approved countries within the Eastern Bloc, while Western nations were only accessible via coveted government approval. The merging of these images speaks to both the need for and trauma of immigration. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://yanapaskova.com/image-editing-story-concepts 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/liquid-rose-gold 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/everywhere 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/on-red-soil 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/before-times 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/after-times 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_040.jpg Walking through Washington Square Park in Manhattan, NY, on December 30, 2021, during a rapid surge in coronavirus cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Walking through Washington Square Park in Manhattan, NY, on December 30, 2021, during a rapid surge in coronavirus cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_012.jpg A man takes a smoking break in Chinatown in New York, U.S., February 13, 2020, at the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Chinese American denizens have reported an uptick in hate speech and crimes ever since U.S. president Donald Trump's racist characterizations on the pandemic's initial spread from Wuhan, China. REUTERS/Yana Paskova A man takes a smoking break in Chinatown in New York, U.S., February 13, 2020, at the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Chinese American denizens have reported an uptick in hate speech and crimes ever since U.S. president Donald Trump's racist characterizations on the pandemic's initial spread from Wuhan, China. REUTERS/Yana Paskova https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_014.jpg Sonya Williams, MTA cleaning staff, disinfects the 86th St. Q train station on March 4, 2020 in New York City. Six people have been diagnosed with novel coronavirus in the metro New York area, including one community spread infection. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) Sonya Williams, MTA cleaning staff, disinfects the 86th St. Q train station on March 4, 2020 in New York City. Six people have been diagnosed with novel coronavirus in the metro New York area, including one community spread infection. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_022.jpg A food order awaits delivery at Antonio's Trattoria in the Bronx, NY, on April 10, 2020, as restaurants across the city shut down to indoor dining in response to the coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) A food order awaits delivery at Antonio's Trattoria in the Bronx, NY, on April 10, 2020, as restaurants across the city shut down to indoor dining in response to the coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_021.jpg A masked butcher looks out of Biancardi Meats as a line of customers waits to pick up food outside in the Bronx, NY, on April 10, 2020. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) A masked butcher looks out of Biancardi Meats as a line of customers waits to pick up food outside in the Bronx, NY, on April 10, 2020. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_020.jpg A masked man walks through an empty Williamsburg at night as the coronavirus rages inside its North American epicenter, New York, on April 05, 2020. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images) A masked man walks through an empty Williamsburg at night as the coronavirus rages inside its North American epicenter, New York, on April 05, 2020. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/My_Covid-20_019.jpg Garden of Eden, Covid Era (through a Brooklyn window, June 2020.) Garden of Eden, Covid Era (through a Brooklyn window, June 2020.) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_023.jpg Protective equipment. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 Protective equipment. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/My_Covid-20_014.jpg In wait: a pandemic threatens to quiet what makes us so casually human, via loss of self, or loss of others. (April 2020, Brooklyn.) In wait: a pandemic threatens to quiet what makes us so casually human, via loss of self, or loss of others. (April 2020, Brooklyn.) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/My_Covid-20_016.jpg The sun sets over a quarantined New York City. I've heard yellow and orange rarely are popular colors. Some say this is because their luminous spectrum drains the eye of energy, while others associate a mustard hue with warning or disease. (March 2020, Brooklyn, NY.) The sun sets over a quarantined New York City. I've heard yellow and orange rarely are popular colors. Some say this is because their luminous spectrum drains the eye of energy, while others associate a mustard hue with warning or disease. (March 2020, Brooklyn, NY.) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_029.jpg A phlebotomist shows to the camera specimens of people getting tested for coronavirus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center on April 24, 2020 in Spring Valley, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) A phlebotomist shows to the camera specimens of people getting tested for coronavirus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center on April 24, 2020 in Spring Valley, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_030.jpg A man adjusts his hat as he waits in line to get tested for coronavirus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center on April 24, 2020 in Spring Valley, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) A man adjusts his hat as he waits in line to get tested for coronavirus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center on April 24, 2020 in Spring Valley, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_031.jpg A phlebotomist prepares to draw blood from a person getting tested for coronavirus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center on April 24, 2020 in Spring Valley, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) A phlebotomist prepares to draw blood from a person getting tested for coronavirus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center on April 24, 2020 in Spring Valley, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_052.jpg A mural of Marxist feminist painter Frida Kahlo peers over a Black Lives Matter protest, under the Broadway MTA tracks in Brooklyn, NY on June 12, 2020. A mural of Marxist feminist painter Frida Kahlo peers over a Black Lives Matter protest, under the Broadway MTA tracks in Brooklyn, NY on June 12, 2020. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_027.jpg A street vendor under a face shield puts a mask on a mannequin's head under the elevated stop of the 4 train at in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) A street vendor under a face shield puts a mask on a mannequin's head under the elevated stop of the 4 train at in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_026.jpg The Bx32 bus drives under the elevated stop of the 4 train at E. Burnside Ave. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020. South Bronx’s NY-15, New York’s chief congressional district and home to the most NYC essential workers, is the poorest in the nation. Its residents suffer from the state’s worst rates of asthma, diabetes, hypertension and obesity, and therefore, a disproportionately high risk of death by a disease like Covid-19. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) The Bx32 bus drives under the elevated stop of the 4 train at E. Burnside Ave. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020. South Bronx’s NY-15, New York’s chief congressional district and home to the most NYC essential workers, is the poorest in the nation. Its residents suffer from the state’s worst rates of asthma, diabetes, hypertension and obesity, and therefore, a disproportionately high risk of death by a disease like Covid-19. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_025.jpg People await entry to BJ's Wholesale outside of the Bronx Terminal Market in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020, in a line stretching across several blocks due to social distancing measures inside stores and supply shortages during the pandemic. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) People await entry to BJ's Wholesale outside of the Bronx Terminal Market in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020, in a line stretching across several blocks due to social distancing measures inside stores and supply shortages during the pandemic. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_041.jpg A masked protester stands amidst a gathering of hundreds at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, on June 07, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 A masked protester stands amidst a gathering of hundreds at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, on June 07, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_044.jpg Hundreds of people gather to protest police violence at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, on June 04, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 Hundreds of people gather to protest police violence at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, on June 04, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_058.jpg (Diptych, L-R) Gloves tied to dried roses, and a broken liberty torch amongst shattered glass, during heavy protesting against police brutality in New York, June of 2020. Yana Paskova/NPR (Diptych, L-R) Gloves tied to dried roses, and a broken liberty torch amongst shattered glass, during heavy protesting against police brutality in New York, June of 2020. Yana Paskova/NPR https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_051.jpg A young girl under a face shield (who wanted to be photographed, with her mother's permission,) watches hundreds of people gather to protest police violence at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, on June 07, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 A young girl under a face shield (who wanted to be photographed, with her mother's permission,) watches hundreds of people gather to protest police violence at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, on June 07, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_048.jpg Hundreds of people gather to protest police violence at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 06, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 Hundreds of people gather to protest police violence at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 06, 2020. Peaceful demonstrations, which elicited teargassing, rubber bullets and mass arrests by police, spread throughout the country and the world in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who Minneapolis police killed via extensive neck and back compression during an arrest at the end of May. Photo by: Yana Paskova © 2020 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_033.jpg In a world that has paused its humans, humans reclaim the asphalt; a skateboarder soars above an emptied avenue in Brooklyn, NY on April 06, 2020. In a world that has paused its humans, humans reclaim the asphalt; a skateboarder soars above an emptied avenue in Brooklyn, NY on April 06, 2020. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_035.jpg A couple sunbathes on a Bedstuy roof, in Brooklyn, NY on May 03, 2020. A couple sunbathes on a Bedstuy roof, in Brooklyn, NY on May 03, 2020. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_036.jpg Love in the Time of Corona (Brooklyn quarantine, July 14, 2020.) Love in the Time of Corona (Brooklyn quarantine, July 14, 2020.) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_038.jpg A mural by E. Burnside Ave. and Walton Ave. in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) A mural by E. Burnside Ave. and Walton Ave. in the Bronx, NY, on April 19, 2020. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_037.jpg New Yorkers congregate in Prospect Park during nice weekend weather as social distancing guidelines remain in place to limit the spread of coronavirus on May 2, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) New Yorkers congregate in Prospect Park during nice weekend weather as social distancing guidelines remain in place to limit the spread of coronavirus on May 2, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_060.jpg A socially-distant street barbecue on a Brooklyn street, on August 26, 2020. A socially-distant street barbecue on a Brooklyn street, on August 26, 2020. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_062.jpg Orthodox Jewish women gather for Sukkoth prayer on August 24, 2020, gatherings often criticized for lack of social distancing and masking pre-Covid-19 vaccines. Orthodox Jewish women gather for Sukkoth prayer on August 24, 2020, gatherings often criticized for lack of social distancing and masking pre-Covid-19 vaccines. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_067.jpg Masses of people take to the streets to celebrate after Democratic candidate and former vice president Joe Biden is projected to be the next president of the United States, defeating his controversial Republican rival, Donald Trump, on November 07, 2020 at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York. Masses of people take to the streets to celebrate after Democratic candidate and former vice president Joe Biden is projected to be the next president of the United States, defeating his controversial Republican rival, Donald Trump, on November 07, 2020 at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_066.jpg A woman joins masses of people in the streets to celebrate after Democratic candidate and former vice president Joe Biden is projected to be the next president of the United States, defeating his controversial Republican rival, Donald Trump, on November 07, 2020 at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York. A woman joins masses of people in the streets to celebrate after Democratic candidate and former vice president Joe Biden is projected to be the next president of the United States, defeating his controversial Republican rival, Donald Trump, on November 07, 2020 at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_031.jpg Senator Bernie Sanders prepares to speak during a Get Out The Vote Rally with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on October 28, 2021 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Senator Bernie Sanders prepares to speak during a Get Out The Vote Rally with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on October 28, 2021 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_032.jpg (L-R) Alex Hinds, 21, from Brooklyn, NY, and Travis Romero, 16, from New Jersey, watch traffic move from New Jersey to New York over the George Washington Bridge, as seen from Fort Lee Historic Park in Fort Lee, NJ, on June 02, 2021. Recent audits reveal that New Jersey state troopers subject Black drivers to stops, searches, arrests and use of force at disproportionate rates, despite the Justice Department having ordered an end to this pattern of racial profiling by law enforcement in the late 1980’s. (L-R) Alex Hinds, 21, from Brooklyn, NY, and Travis Romero, 16, from New Jersey, watch traffic move from New Jersey to New York over the George Washington Bridge, as seen from Fort Lee Historic Park in Fort Lee, NJ, on June 02, 2021. Recent audits reveal that New Jersey state troopers subject Black drivers to stops, searches, arrests and use of force at disproportionate rates, despite the Justice Department having ordered an end to this pattern of racial profiling by law enforcement in the late 1980’s. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_033.jpg People, reflected in the plastic barrier of a restaurant's outdoor dining area, gather for the 95th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in the neighborhood of Little Italy in Manhattan, NY, on September 24, 2021, for the first time since 2019 after last year's festivities were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. People, reflected in the plastic barrier of a restaurant's outdoor dining area, gather for the 95th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in the neighborhood of Little Italy in Manhattan, NY, on September 24, 2021, for the first time since 2019 after last year's festivities were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_034.jpg A man crosses the road alongside traffic moving from New Jersey to New York through the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, NJ, on June 02, 2021. Recent audits reveal that New Jersey state troopers subject Black drivers to stops, searches, arrests and use of force at disproportionate rates, despite the Justice Department having ordered an end to this pattern of racial profiling by law enforcement in the late 1980’s. A man crosses the road alongside traffic moving from New Jersey to New York through the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, NJ, on June 02, 2021. Recent audits reveal that New Jersey state troopers subject Black drivers to stops, searches, arrests and use of force at disproportionate rates, despite the Justice Department having ordered an end to this pattern of racial profiling by law enforcement in the late 1980’s. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_035.jpg A woman holds up a sign as crowds gather in Foley Square in front of the United States Courthouse during the Women's March on October 2, 2021 in New York, NY. Marches were organized across the country to protest a new, restrictive Texas abortion law that bans most abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. A woman holds up a sign as crowds gather in Foley Square in front of the United States Courthouse during the Women's March on October 2, 2021 in New York, NY. Marches were organized across the country to protest a new, restrictive Texas abortion law that bans most abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_036.jpg Reverend John Corbett puts on a robe before holding Sunday Mass at Stella Maris, a Roman Catholic Chapel in Newark, NJ, on December 19, 2021, during a rapid surge in coronavirus cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. New Jersey does not mandate mask-wearing within most indoor spaces. Reverend John Corbett puts on a robe before holding Sunday Mass at Stella Maris, a Roman Catholic Chapel in Newark, NJ, on December 19, 2021, during a rapid surge in coronavirus cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. New Jersey does not mandate mask-wearing within most indoor spaces. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_037.jpg Scott Lobaido poses with the card he says he shows when anyone asks his for his coronavirus vaccination card, during an anti-coronavirus-vaccination-mandate protest in front of the Staten Island University Hospital (Northwell Health) on Staten Island, NY on August 16, 2021. Earlier in the day, outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive that all healthcare workers in the state must have at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccination done by September 27, 2021. Scott Lobaido poses with the card he says he shows when anyone asks his for his coronavirus vaccination card, during an anti-coronavirus-vaccination-mandate protest in front of the Staten Island University Hospital (Northwell Health) on Staten Island, NY on August 16, 2021. Earlier in the day, outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive that all healthcare workers in the state must have at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccination done by September 27, 2021. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_038.jpg A “Scarlet A” balloon floats in the foreground of crowds gathering in Foley Square in front of the United States Courthouse during the Women's March on October 2, 2021 in New York, NY. Marches were organized across the country to protest a new, restrictive Texas abortion law that bans most abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. A “Scarlet A” balloon floats in the foreground of crowds gathering in Foley Square in front of the United States Courthouse during the Women's March on October 2, 2021 in New York, NY. Marches were organized across the country to protest a new, restrictive Texas abortion law that bans most abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_After_039.jpg A masked woman walks through crowds gathering for the 95th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in the neighborhood of Little Italy in Manhattan, NY, on September 24, 2021, a festival that's gathered for the first time since 2019 after last year's festivities were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A masked woman walks through crowds gathering for the 95th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in the neighborhood of Little Italy in Manhattan, NY, on September 24, 2021, a festival that's gathered for the first time since 2019 after last year's festivities were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. https://yanapaskova.com/city-monochrome 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/fashion 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/arts 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/pres-campaigns 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/trump-gawkers 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/people 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/in-print 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8