Yekaterinburg Man Blinded in Attack Now Works as Courier

Until the age of 20, Yekaterinburg resident Alexander Makarov lived a normal life — he finished school, got a job, dated a girl, and made plans for the future. But one evening, he was beaten by drunk strangers in a dark alley, permanently losing his sight. For seven years now, the young man has been using a cane because he can only distinguish light from darkness. Despite this, he works as a courier almost every day to save up for an apartment, move out from his parents, and learn to live like all sighted people.

In a conversation with an E1.RU correspondent, Alexander shared what helps him not to give up, not to feel sorry for himself, and to move towards his goal with small steps every day.

“My Head Swelled to Four Times Its Size”

We decided to share Alexander’s story when a reader contacted our editorial office and told us how she had met a blind courier on the street several times. It was assumed that since the person managed to get such a job, he could navigate independently and easily find the right houses and apartments. That’s why we decided to meet in our editorial office.

At the meeting, it became clear that Sasha could not get to our floor on his own. Passers-by helped him: they took his arm, led him into the elevator, and pressed the right button. Only then did we learn that the young man can only distinguish light and darkness. In rare cases — a traffic light signal, and only in complete darkness. He was assigned the first disability group.

The first disability group is assigned for the most severe and persistent health impairments. It is characterized by a complete loss of ability for self-care, movement, and communication.

That day, a short young man with a large box on his back entered the E1.RU editorial office. It seemed that if the backpack were filled with something heavy, it would easily outweigh the courier himself. It’s hard to imagine this guy getting into a fight.

“I remember that evening well. It happened in 2018,” Alexander recalls. “I was returning home from work. Three guys approached me. At first, they just talked, then they said: let’s go around the corner. And you know, when people drink, they lose their minds. They beat me up. They kicked me so much that my head swelled to four times its size. I crawled home, and we called an ambulance. An infection set in, and they had to remove my right eye, and over time, my left eye lost its sight. Even though they replaced the lens, it didn’t take.”

Alexander was persuaded to file a report against his attackers in the hospital. A criminal case was opened against them under Article 112 of the Russian Criminal Code — “Intentional infliction of moderate harm to health.” One of the attackers was sentenced to five years in a penal colony and ordered to pay 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,000 at current rates) as compensation for moral damages.

Sasha admits that he never perceived what happened as a great tragedy. At first, his girlfriend helped him adapt to life without sight. When their relationship ended, it became harder, but the desire to give up never arose.

“Of course, for people it’s a mourning, but I didn’t feel it was a big problem. If a person wants to, they can adapt to anything; it’s all about desire and striving. For example, I know I want to achieve my goal — to get housing, start a small business. So I work for myself, save money,” Alexander adds.

Navigates the Streets by Memory

The young man found his first side job back in school. When Sasha was 11, he handed out flyers after classes. After ninth grade, he didn’t go to college and started working in a liquor store, then as a promoter in the food service industry. Now he is 27 years old and has been delivering orders on foot for four years in several delivery services. He only works three to four hours a day, earning 3,000 to 5,000 rubles (approximately $30–50 at current rates) per shift.

Usually, the courier only works shifts in his neighborhood — around Belinsky and Shchors streets. He remembers these places well from when he could see, so he navigates fairly well. And local shopkeepers have already remembered Sasha and always come to his aid.

“There are enterprises in our city for the blind, but in fact, they hardly hire people with the first disability group. Others there get piece-rate wages — how much they do, how much they get. I can essentially earn the same money in delivery. I complete five or six orders, and I have 1,500–2,000 rubles. At the same time, I’m not tied to one place. If I want — I work. If I don’t want — I don’t work,” the courier explains.

He used to navigate the area with the help of bus stops and Rospechat kiosks. Sasha would bump into them with his cane, visually recall the street, and understand where he was. But in the summer of 2025, when the mayor’s office declared war on street business, the bus stop complexes and kiosks disappeared all at once, and delivering orders became even more difficult.

“Where I know everything, I don’t ask for help. But, for example, at the bus station, everyone is honking, scaring you, and you lose your orientation inside. When you want to get off the bus, you extend your stick to find out where the curb is. And once, an elevator door broke my cane that way.”

Fortunately, Sasha always encounters kind people on his way who are ready to help — some help him find the right address, others treat him to tea, and others support him financially. A couple of times, complete strangers transferred him substantial tips.

“Just yesterday evening, I was waiting for orders, monitoring. A man came up and asked: hey, you work as a courier, can I help you? And he transferred me 10,000 rubles. And of course, there are people who react negatively. They come up and say: ‘What, can’t you find a normal job for a blind person?’ Only if it were that easy to do, I’d already be working there,” the courier explains.

“The Main Thing Is Not to Lose Heart”

What sets Sasha apart from other couriers is only the delivery speed — on average, he needs 10–15 minutes more. Due to frequent delays, he was once blocked in one of the delivery services. But customers don’t get angry: they see the courier and immediately understand everything.

“I always call, warn, explain the situation. If the intercoms are old-style, I manage on my own. If they’re touch-sensitive — I ask for help. In the elevator, I can only distinguish raised letters, but those are rare. So more often, I call and ask people to come down. And they open and take the orders,” the interviewee added.

Sasha works hard because he dreams of buying his own apartment one day. For living, he has already chosen the Solnechny microdistrict — in his opinion, there are fewer marginalized people and a calmer atmosphere there. Even when he was sighted, he loved the local parks and now dreams of buying at least a small one-bedroom or studio there.

For now, Alexander lives with his parents, but he dreams of starting his own family and getting a guide dog in the future. Only, meeting girls is still difficult for him — he can’t approach them on the street, and dating sites are not adapted for the blind. Smartphones for the blind are controlled with double and triple taps, so “swipes” inside apps are inaccessible to him.

“Alone, of course, it’s hard. I want to spend time with someone, alone — it’s just not interesting, so to speak. But I don’t need some selfish girl. I want to meet someone who understands the soulful character. A girl who doesn’t need billions, who will love you for who you are — that’s all,” Sasha dreams.

In his free time, the courier engages in public activities. He attends meetings with government representatives and advocates for the installation of special traffic lights with sound signals for the blind — at least for his district, to make work easier.

Sasha also actively participates in events of the Vserossiyskoye Obshchestvo Slepykh (All-Russian Society of the Blind), because he is sure: one must not despair, not be afraid to move forward and find one’s place in this life.

Did you like Sasha’s story? Then read more about a blind DJ from the Urals. The whole country learned about Vanya Rusinov when he was still a schoolboy and firmly pursuing his dream.

And at this link — a touching and full of spiritual strength story about how a Yekaterinburg woman created a chocolate factory to help her son with cerebral palsy.