I am a certified translator in Russian-English-Russian pair. I started to work as a translator when still a student some 33 years ago. Having graduted from Translators' Department of Kharkov State University Foreign Languages Faculty in 1984 (that time under the USSR and now Ukraine) I worked as an interpreter in the military hospital in Harer, Ethiopia from 1984-1986. That was my first job.

On returning back home I worked for two years as a translator in the Research Institute which dealt with municipal economies where I held the position of Deputy Marketing Director. There I was doing various patent search work, scientific articles translation etc.

I was not quite happy there with my salary and in 1989 I radically changed my carrer and started to work in the insurance industry. My work nevertheless all the time was very closely connected with English language as I was trying to implement international experience in the local insurance industry. I had to read quite a lot of specialized insurance-related articles and hold various exams in English to prove my professional knowledge of insurance business.

Until recently I was holding executive positions in several insurance companies. During these years I had various insurance courses in Zurich and London where I became the Member of Underwriting Faculty of Chartered Insurance Institute. As I was responsible for inward reinsurance I was daily performing underwriting functions by accepting or declining various insurance submissions. They were coming from more than 50 countries and English was the main language in which I was working for the last 20 years. I was travelling a lot during those years all over Europe and Middle East and South East Asia with occassional trips to the US and Caribbean. I participated in various international conferences several times a year, prepared and delivered numerous presentations and did other marketing-related work.

Now I want a bit quieter life and I would like to spend more time at home with my family. It seems freelance translation suit well with my plans.