Sveta, or full name, Svetlana, was born and raised in Baku, Azerbaijan. She looks back on her youth in the Caucasus as some of the best years of her life. Like many Russians of her generation, Sveta looks back fondly on her years as a child in the Soviet Union, agreeing that "life was better then." She misses these old days, and is never pressed for a story about life back in the good ol' days. This makes for continually interesting conversation, but an even more mysterious, and surprising woman. For a few weeks, I lived life by her side, understanding more fully her values, her priorities, her goals, her dreams. What a wonderful example and friend. Thank you, Sveta. She takes after her Dad in every imaginable way, from the tip of her nose to her feisty and exuberant character. She grew up swimming, as her Dad managed a sports' facility in Baku, and eventually wound up at Moscow's prestigious sport's institute on a scholarship for synchronized swimming...