I’m Russian, My Wife Is Ukranian — Here’s How Putin’s Actions Make Me Feel
I am embarrassed.
I’ll be honest. I don’t like writing or talking about politics. Where I am from, nobody does.
My generation — people born in the late 1990s — was brought up in a dictatorship country with no rights and no ability to voice our minds. We were sold the idea that nothing we do or say matters — because it really doesn’t. We were told that at any point, the modern-day version of KGB (called FSB) might be listening to us. We were taught that no matter how hard we vote, it won’t change a thing.
Nobody can do anything. So why bother?
“It’s not us, it’s them, the people in power.”
We — people of Russia, are not in charge. We are imprisoned. We’re not to blame. It’s not our fault.
Right?
Most people in modern-day Russia are faced with two options: shut up and get used to it — making the most of the corrupt system, learning to navigate its treacherous waters — OR leave.
I chose the latter.
Last year, my wife and I left Russia last year and we don’t intend on coming back. Because we care about the truth, we want to live a good life, and most of all: we value our ability to say what we think without…
