“LGBT* are everywhere, children are being taken away”: immigrants from Europe talk about moving to Russia

Olga left Russia in 2011. And not just anywhere, but to Liverpool – the homeland of The Beatles.

And in 2016 she returned to her native land, to Rostov-on-Don.

Olga began her story with memories: “The first time I was in Europe was in 2009, my mother and I went on tour. After that I cried as I wanted to stay there. Infected with Europe, it seemed like paradise. Rostov-on-Don is also quite a civilized city, but it cannot be compared with the cities of Italy and France. I miss that beauty. I walk along our streets and spit.”

Olga’s dream came true. In 2011, she married an Englishman and gave birth to a child.

“You can’t imagine the torment I went through to get legalized in Britain.” And this despite the fact that I married an Englishman…

“Was it worth it to suffer so much to come back later?”

– Well, what do you think? After all, everything they say on Russian television is true. And about the high cost, and about LGBT propaganda (the Supreme Court recognized the “LGBT movement” as an extremist organization and banned its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation).

Already in 2012, I noticed that LGBT people were everywhere. For example, in the children’s play center there was a portrait of a family – mother and mother. I am a child psychologist by training, and I understand that such things are deposited in the child’s subconscious.

I remember when my husband and I came to send our daughter to kindergarten, they asked me: are you pregnant? And then they asked my husband: “Are you pregnant?” They explained: what if he is transgender. These were the first bells that alerted me.

Then I found out that the son of Russian acquaintances changed his gender after graduating from Oxford. The parents couldn’t do anything.

A friend of mine who lives there recently sent out a school poster that said: if you don’t feel like everyone else, call us and we can help. And a phone number.

The topic of non-traditional values ​​is one of those discussed in the chats of immigrants. Judging by the comments, almost every second chat participant has such a story in their stash. One woman said that her friends’ daughter turned from Leoni into Leon and cut off her breasts. Another friend’s daughters became sons. A third described how the 18-year-old son of friends takes hormonal pills and grows his hair. One participant shared her personal experience: “At the age of 18, my daughter imagined herself to be a boy. Convinces us of this. He’s offended that we don’t understand. He has been defending his position for three years.”

“This country turned out to be not mine,” Olga continues. “I experienced psychological discomfort there. And in 2014, Russophobia worsened. For some reason, the British told all Russians: “Go to Poland.” In Britain it is generally difficult to accept emigrants. We had English friends who often invited us to visit. But we couldn’t get closer. When my child was one and a half years old, I divorced my husband. None of my friends supported me. And I was left completely alone…

Despite the lack of friends and loneliness, Olga was in no hurry to return to her homeland.

— After the divorce, my husband refused to help me. The state paid child benefits. This is decent money, you can live on it. With my Russian education, I was not hired. I went to college and studied to become an accountant for three years. I had no doubt that I would find a job in this specialty. I was wrong. I was categorically not accepted anywhere. As a result, I became self-employed. Won grants and scholarships to open my own small business. I recruited clients and did accounting reports.

Olga admits that life has improved, but it hasn’t gotten any easier psychologically: “If I had a full-fledged family and friends, I probably wouldn’t have left.”

As a result, the woman returned to Rostov-on-Don.

— In five years I have lost the habit of Russia. I forgot Russian words. It was difficult for me to formulate the idea. I had to remember the language again. A British accounting diploma was not useful in the Russian Federation. Government organizations did not accept it. I thought about getting a job in Moscow with an international company, but because of sanctions, companies left the country.

According to the interlocutor, several of her friends also moved from England to Russia. Some are thinking.

– You can’t imagine what’s happening there now. If a Russian woman divorces her husband and plans to leave with her child, she is banned,” recalls Olga. “When I left my husband, he filed a statement with the police that I stole the child. I was put on the wanted list. I defended the child. Single families, especially emigrants, immediately fall on the hook of social services. I was afraid that my daughter could be taken away from me.

Even in England there were problems with medicine. If you get sick, you will be seen by a general practitioner, such as an unqualified therapist, for an initial consultation. We haven’t seen a pediatrician in five years. They are only available in hospitals. We waited more than a month for a consultation with an orthopedist for the child. In case of illness, only cough medicines and paracetamol are prescribed. When the ENT specialist in Rostov saw my daughter, she almost killed us: what kind of outback did you live in? The child developed such wax plugs in her ears that she almost went deaf.

– So you don’t regret leaving?

“It was interesting to live there, but nothing more,” Olga summarizes. – We will never find a common language with the British, they are not inclined to communicate, they are aloof. They are afraid of each other because denunciations are common there. The French are closer to us, they are warmer. And in Russia, although it’s not so beautiful, they instill the right values ​​here. There is a family – mom, dad – these are basic things. It’s important for me…

“Russia will give a pension of 8000 to a French pensioner”

Pensioner Galina returned to her native Crimea from Paris, where she lived for more than 10 years. She moved her French husband to the peninsula.

Before the conversation, the woman asks me to indicate my position: “This is important to me, I wouldn’t want any provocations.”

She says about her husband: “He loves France, but he treats the President of Russia with respect and understanding. My husband’s mentality is Russian.”

He further recalls that moving back to his homeland is difficult: “We spent a lot of nerves. There were difficulties with obtaining citizenship. We were scared that we would have to pay a lot of money to get a passport. There were smart people who tried to provide help for 30 thousand rubles or more. But we did everything ourselves: we stood in lines, waited… I would like to note that those who decide to return to Russia must go through all the obstacles on their own, without lawyers, in order to value their Russian passport more. Many people are given citizenship under a simplified program in vain. When a person gets everything easily, it is not valued.”

Finally, the woman moves on to her story of moving.

“We met my husband through friends. At that time I lived in St. Petersburg, worked in the market. In 2012 I went to Paris for the first time. The future husband immediately realized that I was not particularly eager to go to this paradise. But he turned out to be persistent. We got married and moved to France.

In France, Galina and her husband worked in a butcher shop. The woman mastered the profession of a sales cashier.

— I liked the French, they are very cultured people. But due to the huge influx of migrants, the culture is fading away. I won’t describe how the Ukrainians ruined the situation, you know… But heaven in Europe is only for those who have money. If there are no funds, you need to build a life where it is comfortable. They lie that in Europe pensioners travel constantly. Even wealthy pensioners who still have strength work. A friend of mine owned three houses and worked as a salesman.

— Did you lack money?

— My husband used to be a wealthy businessman. But after the divorce I was left with nothing. These are the laws of France. He wanted to kill himself, the French do this. I was in the hospital for three months, treated for depression. And then he started life from scratch. He says: he became poor, but he was lucky in love.

It seems that it is becoming clear why Galina returned to Crimea. However, the woman stands her ground: “Because Russia is my homeland, my husband is delighted. There is nature here, the sea, and what air! And I still have a house here from my parents.”

The woman did not change her citizenship because of patriotic reasons: “I am Crimean! I love my Crimea!”

-What do you live on?

– We live on my pension – 12,780 rubles. In Russia they promised to pay a pension to my husband when he turns 70. So in February, a French pensioner will be given 8,000 for medicines. But we don’t cry. We save. We eat meat. My daughter helps and buys medicine. This is all such a small thing with the fact that a person is happy to live in Russia. After all, many foreigners want to move to Crimea, but this is almost impossible. Who will let them in? The peninsula is closed! You need to have family roots to settle here.

— Did your children support your decision to return?

— The youngest was in favor. The eldest was cautious and didn’t believe it until the very end.

When asked if it’s scary to live in an unsafe region, the woman replies: “No. My husband is delighted. I advise Russian women who have French husbands to bring them here. Housing can be bought inexpensively. Look, one of our drunks sold a two-room apartment in the center of the peninsula for only 2 million rubles. Near the sea, market, hospitals and 150 thousand inhabitants. Civilization!”.

— Were local residents surprised by the appearance of a Frenchman in their area?

“We weren’t surprised, they really loved my Frenchman.” Wherever you enter the restaurant, invitations and pourings immediately follow. Recently we left a cafe, my husband sat down on the step and lit a cigarette. An unfamiliar man approached him, asked if he was feeling well, and offered to help. My husband was touched by this. He says that in France everyone would pass by.

— Don’t you miss France?

“Of course I miss you,” the woman admits. “Everything there is so beautiful, I have a lot of connections with this country.”

After a minute he stops short: “But our graves and even my French husband’s are already here! In Crimea! We’re home! And no sanctions scare us. There is electricity, there is internet. Right now my husband is watching French television. True, now I can’t get to see my daughter and grandchildren; they live in Paris. So what should I do? What should I do? Previously, we always went to Paris for Christmas and spent the summer in Crimea.”

Nevertheless, Galina is still going to Paris.

— After the New Year, we will go to France for three months. There the husband’s health issue needs to be resolved. This is a lengthy process, you wait for months, there are not enough doctors in Europe. Perhaps in France you will have to get a temporary part-time job, you need to earn money for the trip back to Crimea. Romance!..

xxx

In the chat of displaced people, not everyone shares the excitement about returning to their homeland. Moving is especially difficult for foreigners. Here are just a few messages:

“There is no easy money in Russia. In Europe, a friend’s husband worked as a mechanic at a factory, and they had enough for everything. We lived like ok. We arrived in the Russian Federation and needed mechanics, but naturally not with the same salary as in Germany. The man was offered a place through an acquaintance. He said he wasn’t going to bust his ass for that kind of money until 8 p.m.”

“A friend got married and moved to Germany. I lived there and lived for myself, and then I began to feel sad. 4 years ago I returned to Russia with my husband. Their parents bought them an apartment. Only they didn’t take root. They came back six months later.”

“I don’t want to dissuade anyone, but I read the story of a young woman who moved to Russia with her German husband. The euphoria passed quickly. And then my husband became depressed. They suffered for three years and came back. I think forcing a foreigner to change countries is not the best solution.”