In 2003, Olga moved from Vladivostok to Moscow. Her elderly mother lived in the city and needed taking care of. Olga’s husband and son stayed back in the Far East.
In Moscow, Olga took up a job in a clinic’s registry. Her job lasted four years. She recalls that it was very tough working there.
“I was extremely busy as I was answering visitors' questions, giving out medical cards and answering phone calls of doctors and city calls. In order to get a normal pay, I had to clean the registry office as well. After four years I could not take it any longer.”
She further said, “All people are different; some can be difficult to deal with. They came in and slayed me with their hatred and malice, ‘you get that kind of money, you have to do this!’ they used to say. What money? What am I supposed to do?” Olga recalls her days at the clinic.
Despite the difficulties in the city Olga decided to pursue her hobbies. She became fascinated with yoga; she engaged in public work and she tried her hand at modeling as well.
“All my life parallel to my work, I used to take part in mass crowd filming. I used to run to various auditions on weekends. For a 12-hour working day we used to get about 500 —1000 rubles, not much, but I really enjoyed it.”
She recalled that when she was younger she tried to come close to the TV lens, hoping to get noticed.
“It is thanks to the cinema that I got involved in modeling. Through film I met actress Albina Stanislavovna Evtushevsky and through her I met Igor Gavar,” the model said.
Olga was asked to be photographed by Igor Gavar, the founder of the first modeling agency for elderly called “Oldushka.”
One thing that always motivated Olga was her love for dance. Since her younger days she used to love dancing and so for her photo shoots she asked for music so she could relax and get into the right mindset while dancing.
Mostly, Olga takes part in photo shoots for various look books but sometimes she does runways too. This summer, she took part in the filming of a TV program called “Fashion Prigavor.”
“I was the people’s model in the show. It was scary because I am 71. I had to walk actively and in heels. The first time I was under a lot of stress but now I feel freer. My love for dance, Chinese gymnastics and my life experience helps me a lot,” Olga said.
In order to conquer her fears, Olga believes that, “There is no need to be afraid of anything, one should just spread love and not fear.”
Her son, who is an actor himself, supports her work. Olga’s husband however was a bit skeptical about his wife’s work as a model but now he has come to terms with it and supports her.
According to Olga her work helps her find harmony. Despite the difficulties, she believes that her work inspires and fatigue only occurs when a person is engaged in a business that doesn’t suit them. If one is in the right place there is no fatigue.
“My main secret of beauty is the internal state of harmony, warmth, love and peace of mind. I have noticed that no matter how nicely they do my makeup, if I am a little worried about something; my eyes reflect fear and aggression. However, if all is well, that brings out the beauty in the person,” Olga concluded.
