Their father was killed in an accident when they were small. Their mother died after a long illness. Their remaining relatives were too poor to care for them, so they lived in an orphanage near the Baltic Sea for more than two years. Their futures were particularly bleak. In Russia, kids in orphanages typically are turned out on the streets at age 16.
Boys have the military, but girls can look forward to, at best, factory work.
Many turn to prostitution. Suicide rates for those who grew up in Russian orphanages are abnormally high. As older kids, the girls' chances of being adopted were slim. As sisters, their chances of being adopted together were nearly nil. Mike and Meg King helped them beat the odds.