Anna Yakhmeneva, a young mother and Instagram blogger, told us about her relationship with her beloved city and shared some of the capital’s most wonderful places. Read, be inspired, and explore Moscow!

I used to think that maternity leave meant life within four walls—or, at most, within the four corners of the courtyard. For a while, I even allowed myself to follow these stereotypes. But the view outside the window was changing, my daughter was growing, my unrealized creative potential was making itself felt, and then, one fine day, I realized that I had to do something. To begin with, simply leave the house. And so I took my first long walk through Moscow with the stroller in ages.

I discovered that I had missed the city terribly and wanted to capture it exactly as I saw it at that moment. Since I had nothing at hand but an iPhone, I began taking pictures with it. That evening, I posted the results on Instagram and received quite a few lovely responses, which made me want to keep photographing more and more. Gradually, the selfies, food, cats, and other nonsense disappeared from my little blog, while the city took their place. So much of the city. And with it came the hashtag #yakhmenevasmoscow.

I wanted my friends to look at Moscow from a different angle, to discover that it is not only the postcard Red Square and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, but also thousands of little-known yet so beautiful corners.

Today, I admit, I research many of these places in advance and map out entire walking routes for myself. I calculate when it is best to go to point B—at dawn or at dusk, in clear or cloudy weather, how to shoot it—from an ant’s height, lying in the grass, or by slyly slipping into the locked entrance of a neighbouring apartment building (yes, yes, that has happened too).

But some places are found purely by chance. You walk and walk, and suddenly—there it is, beauty. Sometimes it is important simply to look up from the phone screen, slow the pace, and just carefully look around.

 Over time I realised that a visual sequence alone was not enough for me; many frames I wanted to accompany with some special words, with poetry. Today many of these are born, like the photographs, on the go. That is how the second hashtag appeared—#yakhmenevaspoetry.

I do not consider myself a photographer and do not call myself a poet. That carries a great deal of obligation, especially in a country where every third person is a photographer and every second a poet. My husband keeps urging me to buy a DSLR, but for now I refuse. After all, our parents and their parents shot on far less sophisticated equipment, and masterpieces came out. So why not get the most out of an ordinary phone? Besides, such photographs do not lose the sense of freshness, of the moment. They do not need to be uploaded to a computer and processed for hours.

Here is Moscow, right now, in this very second. Step outside, and you too will see it this way.