He was born in 1974 year in Mariupol on Azov Sea, Ukraine. His passion for photography started as a child. He attended the Academy of Arts and Culture at the Department of Cinema and Photo Skills in Siberia, while freelancing for newspapers and advertising agencies . Upon graduation he worked at the 'Kuznetsky kray' newspaper. In 1995 he began as a stringer for epa in Siberia. He has covered such stories as children's colonies in Siberia and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In 2001 he covered NATO operations in Afghanistan.