About the Authors
Our Story
We are US-based journalists of Russian and Ukrainian heritage trying to do something to end the war.
Gleb Drobkov
Data Scientist & Producer
Gleb Drobkov
“I am a product of post-Soviet world events. My parents met while working at the newspaper Pravda — my mother is a half-Ukrainian Muscovite and water skiing champion, and my dad was a respected international bureau editor at Pravda, of Estonian and Polish descent.”
When the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse in 1991, Gleb's family emigrated from Moscow to Washington, DC. He grew up fluent in Russian after his mother opened a Saturday Russian school — Olympus — where children from across the former Soviet Union socialized without regard for national boundaries.
“When we played together, we never cared if someone was from Minsk, Kiev or Warsaw. We all loved pelmeni, kvass, and growing acquainted with Russian traditions.”
Gleb earned degrees from Cornell University in economics and management, and today works as a Lead Data Scientist at Boston Consulting Group. He is also the founder of Charles River Data and lives in Verona, NJ with his wife Lily, daughter Katherine, and cat Teemo.
Chris Borovik
“I was born in New York, NY, in the late 1990s. My parents were born in the Soviet Union but met in New York as kids while attending the same school. My mother was born and raised in Kiev and my father was born and raised in Moscow. I have strong sentiments towards both countries.”
Chris's father attended MGIMO and became a famous journalist after making trips to Afghanistan with Soviet troops, publishing the book “The Hidden War.” He later founded the first independent Russian newspaper specializing in investigative journalism.
Chris graduated from Boston University in 2021 with a dual degree in Political Science and Philosophy. While at BU, he won a sponsorship to begin working on his first documentary about the history of Russian philosophy.
“I got deeply traumatized when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and realized that I had to take action to stop the bloodshed. I took a limitless leave from my job, collected a team of brave journalists, and went to Donbass to tell the truth about the ongoing events.”
Chris Borovik
Documentary Filmmaker
Andrew Lazovski
Director of Operations, Operation Illuminate Ukraine
Andrew leads logistics and operations for the humanitarian partnership, coordinating the delivery of aid packages to communities across Ukraine. His work ensures that the documentary's mission extends beyond storytelling into tangible, on-the-ground relief.
Why We're Making This Film
Duty to Help
There is more to life than making money and caring about personal family interests. We have a duty to help bring understanding of different sides.
Unique Access
We come from families of journalists with vast networks of prominent people in Ukraine. We have enormous access to people with breathtaking stories across the country.
Personal Stakes
Both authors have Ukrainian and Russian family members on opposite sides of the conflict. Some relatives have completely stopped communicating with each other.