Photo journal: Postcards from Russia

Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal, Eastern Siberia

Raisa Petrovna, 67, lived in Ukraine for 53 years before moving to Olkhon Island, to join her son, Yuri.

Yuri was a fisherman but died in an accident in 1993.

Raisa now lives on her own, surviving on her state pension of $40 a month, and like many elderly Russians, must grow her own vegetables and potatoes to survive. Her one wish in life "to not live anymore, but die quickly."