Russian photographer Lialia Gimadeeva started her visual diary in 2008 when she moved to Kazan in Tatarstan to study. For some time she lived in an old student dormitory – typical for universities across the country. The rooms were small and interiors crammed, and the new rules of cohabitation with other students completely removed privacy from her life, and, in return bringing with it an obsession with photography. Gimadeeva started observing the girls she shared the rooms with and documenting their love affairs, cigarettes, make out sessions, and their shared common journey into adulthood.

“When your roommates are girls just like you, it’s a great opportunity to explore yourself and see how your femininity develops in your first living space away from your parents," the photographer says. "We were looking for ourselves, trying out different ways of interacting with the world and with men – playing adult women.” A window into a strange and unlikely sisterhood, as well as a diary of searching for one’s identity, Gimadeev says, “Now it all looks fun, but back then it at times seemed tragic. All the emotions were wild. And loneliness tastes particularly bitter when you’re surrounded by people 24-hours a day. It's like your life doesn't belong you anymore.”

These photos were originally published at The Calvert Journal, a guide to the new east