Pregnancy grips nation where Heidi Hollinger gained fame
CHERYL CORNACCHIA
Two months ago, the Montreal-born, Moscow-based photojournalist became a single mother after much speculation and Russian media fanfare.
"She's pregnant with Russia," was the headline - just one of many - above a round-bellied, sable-coated Hollinger on the front of a slick Moscow magazine this fall.
"It was a really big deal," said Hollinger, now back in Montreal.
And, an about-face.
Since arriving in Moscow in the early '90s, Hollinger, now 32, has made a name for herself taking photos of Russia's political elite and with the chutzpah and perseverance she demonstrated in getting them.
In the mid-'90s, she photographed right-wing leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky lounging in his underwear and, more recently, she photographed newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Her photographs, published around the world and in several glossy books, including last year's Les Russes (Editions Alain Stanke, $24.95) have documented the changing face of Russia. And, they've brought her a measure of fame, especially in the Motherland.
But since her pregnancy, the camera has been focused on her and the details of her life: Will she stay in Russia? Who is the baby's father? Will he be involved in the child's life? Will she continue to take photos?
She answers: "Maybe"; "It's a secret"; "No"; and "I'll probably ease back into it."
She still has a car, apartment and photo studio in Moscow. And with high unemployment in Russia, nannies are cheap and plentiful.
But right now, she is relishing the early days of motherhood - she gave birth to Luka (Russian for Luke) on Dec. 14 at the Royal Victoria Hospital - and the support of family.
"My mom's so in love with Luka," Hollinger said. "He's her first grandchild."
She said she had never been one to think about motherhood. "I was always running around, traveling. I didn't seem like the motherly type."
But from the moment she learned she was pregnant, she said, she was thrilled and surprised by how happy she found herself.
"It's the best thing that has ever happened to me," Hollinger said. "Even better than photographing the Russian president.
"It really calmed me down."
She gave up drinking vodka - she said drinking vodka is "a social requirement in culturally infested Moscow" - and tried to get more than her usual five hours of sleep a night.
"I was always doing the max," she said of her life in Russia before becoming pregnant.
Afterward, she turned down coveted assignments, including an invitation from the Russian interior minister to fly over war-torn Chechnya.
"It was hard," she said. "I really wanted to go. You would be pretty safe in a government plane."
But she was more than six months pregnant at the time. "I had to think of the baby. What if the plane was seen as a target? A Russian envoy had just been kidnapped and killed in Chechnya," she said.
Instead, she stayed in Moscow and took photos of Canadian trade mission: "It was a tradeoff."
If work wasn't quite as exciting as it had been before, her pregnancy was. She was in Russia's Harper's Bazaar, her blossoming figure photographed in Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier maternity wear.
Her pregnancy was followed on a state television show, and the host even offered to pay her medical expenses if she stayed in Russia.
But with a Canadian passport and Quebec medicare card in hand - working for a Montreal book publisher while in Russia allowed her to keep the latter - she decided to come home for the birth and to regroup here.
She is considering two new projects: one a collection of photographs of Quebec celebrities, which would mean returning to Canada, and the other a book of photos of modern-day Moscow.
As well, two by-invitation-only exhibits will be on show in Ottawa next month - one in the Commonwealth Room of Parliament and the other at the Russian embassy.
Her life is full, and given the demands of being a single parent, it will only become fuller.
"I know you can't do everything," Hollinger said as Luka nursed at her breast. "I'll just have to make choices."
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