Due to her early childhood circumstances stemming out of the Cold War clandestine romance of her parents, Seraphina Aurelia Bogomolova was completely unaware of the fact that she had a biological twin. She grew up in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) alongside a boy who was told to be her brother yet she never felt that way about him herself. This puzzled her greatly and, some decades later, prompted her to start an investigative journey that would lead to a profound realisation. 

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Using research, facts, DNA tests, intuition, memories, and her subconscious, Seraphina was able to reconstruct the picture of what happened to her biological twin and why she always felt a certain void that needed to be filled. 

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Seraphina, like her twin brother, was born in the Institute Otta on Vasilevsky island in the centre of Saint Petersburg - then Leningrad. This renowned institution is related to one of Seraphina's ancestors on her mother's side - Catherine The Great. It was founded in 1797 by the second wife of Catherine's son, the Russian Emperor Paul I, Maria Fedorovna (Sophia Dorothea Auguste Luise von Württemberg). The very building of the Institute where Seraphina and her twin brother came to existence was constructed based on a vision of Dmitry Oskarovich Ott, an outstanding Russian and Soviet obstetrician-gynaecologist, as well as the personal obstetrician of the family of Nicholas II. The building was inaugurated on 24 February 1904 by the Russian Emperor, Nicolas II, and his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna (Alix of Hesse).

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Seven months prior to the birth of the twins, in early spring, their parents met in Paris, France. She - a 19 y.o. girl of the Russian aristocratic émigré circles, called Sophia, and he - a Soviet operative undercover in diplomatic services in Paris, called Mikhail. An unlikely, yet striking pair. At the moment of their encounter, Seraphina's mother could not have known or even envisaged the true implications of such a romantic affair which led to her pregnancy. 

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Shortly before giving birth, Sophia went as a tourist to Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). Most likely, her trip and visa had been arranged by Seraphima's father. Some days into her trip, she unexpectedly had a premature delivery. As a result twins were born - a girl and a boy, - Seraphina and her brother.

 

Due to unexpected complications during Seraphina's birth she had to be placed in a special ward for care. Meanwhile, Sophia's visa was about to expire, bringing her visit to the USSR to an end. This prompted a calculated yet brilliant decision taken by Seraphina's father: his daughter was to stay in the USSR, whilst his son would return with Sophia to France. The decision taken separated the twins, creating cultural, political, territorial, and emotional distance.

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Because of the secretive nature of his work and not wishing to draw the attention to his connection to a citizen of the foreign country, Mikhail placed his daughter with a foster family of Russian-Ukrainian descent which already had a boy of the same age as Seraphina. The boy automatically became a substitute for Seraphina's biological twin brother. Neither Seraphina, nor the substitute, and, most likely, nor her biological twin knew of this elaborate and intentional arrangement of Seraphina's father.

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Soon after, Seraphina's father returned to France and continued his work and mission there. 

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Meanwhile, Seraphina's biological twin started his life journey with Sophia and her relatives. Seraphina's family on her mother's side comes from a mix of such aristocratic lineages as the Bobrynsky, Trubetskoy, Shuvalov, Dolgorukov, Potocki, Karnovich, von Prittwitz, with their roots going as deep in time as Rurik and Yaroslav Court and Grand Princes of Kiev period.

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Overly protected, surrounded by the mother's care and the environment of the Russian aristocratic émigré circles, Seraphina's brother faced a very different reality from the one of Seraphina. The reality that shaped him and his outlook on life. Similarly, Seraphina was affected by the system she had been placed into, and the immediate environment she experienced as a child. The divide in the twins' upbringing, ideals, moral standards and views was glaring. Which one turned out the best? The answer lies in a perspective.​​

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Regardless of her father's decision that affected Seraphina's early life, she remained truly her father's daughter, as she grew up into an independent, strong, and brilliant individual who is not afraid of challenges, seeing them as an opportunity for development and improvement. Seraphina has also successfully incorporated both worlds of her parents - the country where she grew up and spent the first 23 years of her life, and the Western world where she has spent several decades travelling, living and working in London, New York, Dubai, Geneva, Berlin. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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And, what about Seraphina's twin? Ironically, the calculated decision of Mikhail produced the opposite effect.

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