I'm a Russian-American designer and cultural historian (researcher of Soviet culture). I received my MA in design from the Stroganov Art School in Moscow and my PhD from the Russian State University for Humanities. After moving to the US, I worked as an Associate Art Director at Orange Coast Magazine in Irvine, Art Director at The Workbook in Los Angeles and Director of Marketing for a division of US Gypsum. I opened my design studio VPA in 1988. My book "Architecture in the Age of Stalin: Culture Two" has been published by Cambridge University Press.