Russian Mosaic is the true story of a young girl from a Russian mining town above the Arctic Circle, whose coming of age is marked by tragedy and hardship, but ultimately survival. She spent her childhood and college years under the structured control of the state. With always a bit of rebellion for the lack of freedom and self-expression, she learned to "play along" to get by. As a young adult, she witnessed the fall of communism and the Soviet Union, and with it, the change of lifestyle for all Russians. The daughter of a miner father and an accountant mother, Olga endures a number of ordeals that would have broken others less resilient. From the untimely passing of her father, and through a variety of early life experiences, she learns from her mother not to rely on others, but to be self-sufficient and to make her own way in the world. She not only survives but succeeds and writes with the hope of inspiring other women who face adversity in life.