This is a story of the family from Orenburg that hasn’t been able to leave their home for almost five years. Tatyana is 70 and the sole caregiver for her two adult children, both living with severe disabilities. 

​

In Russia, there are about 12 million people with disabilities. For many of them, ordinary things — stepping outside, taking a short walk, going to the store — turn into insurmountable challenges. There are no ramps, no accessible transport, and barriers everywhere.

​

“We’ve lost all our health — it feels like we’ve already died. There are so many people around, and yet we are completely alone,” says Tatyana.

​

Inside their apartment, time feels frozen. Outside, the city hums — the rush of people, the noise of strangers’ voices. Inside, life repeats itself almost to the minute, day after day. Their husband and father, Yuri, passed away in 2021. Since then, the family has been almost entirely confined within four walls: getting two adults down from the second floor is an impossible task. There is no accessible environment, no assistance, and the simple act of stepping outside has become an unattainable dream.

Their eldest son, Oleg, is 45 and has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. Their daughter, Nastya, is 40 and has severe autism along with dystrophy. Neither can move independently. They have no relatives, no friends. For years they’ve been waiting — in vain — for help from social services..

What remains is a quiet, exhausting fight — simply to survive one more day, despite the pain, fatigue, and isolation”.