larry johnson brings us the experiences of an american living in russia; 

 

In light of the Western propaganda portraying life in Russia as a horror show of economic chaos and deprivation, I decided to post an article submitted to me by an ex-pat American who currently resides in Simferopol. Let’s call him Dan. Enjoy:

Just over a year ago my wife and I left the US, bound for Russia. We had just closed our business, sold most of our stuff, and embarked on a new phase of our life. Our reasons for this change were twofold: to care of my wife’s 86 year old mother and take advantage of a new visa Russia recently offered to Westerners called Shared Values Visa. I was, since my college days when I took two Russian culture courses, interested in this country. My interest led me to look for a Slavic wife when I finally got around to that matter in my early 30’s. My wife is a native Ukrainian from the city of Kherson. Besides the first two years of our 25 year marriage, which were spent in her hometown, we lived in the US. We don’t have any major plans for the future besides living with Mama while she is still here.

We are currently living in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, which is, or at least was, a sister city to the capital of our home State in the US. The two cities are similar in size and on the same parallel on the globe. I have not met nor heard of other Americans living in this city. We have come to know many locals here though, through church, or interactions in daily life. Some of them have become our friends. We rent an apartment in a micro district in the central part of the city. There are, I suppose, 5000 people living in the 20 or so apartment buildings in this area. ..........more............