I have a master’s degree in Political Science, which helps me make sense of the complex social world we live in and explain it better using data. I have had a keen interest in journalism. Having grown up in Russia, where journalism is, literally, a matter of life and death, made me appreciate its importance in informing the public and defending democracy. A constellation of events led me to work as a data analyst for seven years, during which I mastered R and making charts with ggplot, among other things.

One day, I stumbled upon an incredible visual journalism project and it hit me that this is what I actually want to do. Several of my quite different, at first sight, passions combined together also make me good at it. My love for politics and journalism, years of experience in data analysis, and passion for beautiful design are ingredients necessary to do interactive visual storytelling. Since that moment of lucidity, I spend every free moment teaching myself Javascript, D3, Svelte, SVG animation, design, storytelling, the list goes on and will probably never end.

I am currently based in Costa Rica. When I am not learning or working on a project or obsessing over some coding problem, I read books, do yoga, play with my cat Carabelita, or travel.

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As I am constantly learning, my website will change with my skills. I am planning on rebuilding it with Svelte, adding custom design, animations, and a blog!