Why Russian women do not want to leave Cuba?
An impressive diaspora of Russians, more precisely, former Soviet citizens, still lives in Cuba. At one time, the Soviet Union was very friendly with Liberty Island. We helped Cuba with weapons, industrial equipment, and built a variety of infrastructure facilities. But, just as importantly, tens of thousands of Cuban citizens were educated in the USSR. Almost every major university studied Cuban students. Naturally, one of them met and started a relationship with Soviet girls who married Cubans and went to the far coast of the Caribbean Sea.
Official data estimate the number of immigrants from the former USSR in Cuba at about 5-6 thousand people. Most of them are women - wives or former wives of Cubans. Given that the Soviet Union collapsed 27 years ago, and then the number of Cuban students in Russian universities plummeted down, most of our compatriots on Liberty Island are women of older age groups.
Valentina Borisovna 41 years ago came to enter Rostov State University from a small village in the neighboring Krasnodar Territory. The girl got a place in the hostel, in the same room with peers - cubes. So she met their friend Jorge, also a Cuban who studied at the Faculty of Chemistry. The girl really liked the guy, but Valentina was shy for a long time to start a relationship with him - still a foreigner, and even an appearance unusual for our country. But feelings turned out to be stronger than all stereotypes and young people began to meet, and then got married. When Jorge completed his studies, Valentina went after her husband to Cuba. She stayed there.
Similar stories of life in Cuba - a carbon copy. Similar fates - meeting a Cuban, marriage, departure to her husband’s homeland. To say that it was hard was to say nothing. Cuba lived very poorly. Students studying in the USSR managed to take everything home, including dummies, to their homeland. Because of US sanctions, there was a real shortage of everything on Liberty Island. Even the products - and those exclusively on coupons, in a very modest amount.
But it saved that the Cubans are a cheerful and carefree people, it is easier to communicate with them than with the same inhabitants of the Arab countries. The climate was also pleasing to our compatriots - until now, millions of Russians can only dream of a distant island in the Caribbean, and the Russian wives of Cubans swam in the sea all year round, enjoying the picturesque scenery.
Over time, some of the former USSR citizens divorced their husbands, others husbands passed away, but almost no one left Cuba - after all, a large part of the conscious life passed here, children and relatives live here. Cuba has become their new home. The only thing that saddens is a low standard of living. Well, the homesickness, of course, is present in those who are doing well with children and husbands.
Even not everyone can afford to fly on a visit to their relatives remaining in Russia - plane tickets by Cuban standards are so expensive that only a few can afford flights to Russia and back. Those who managed to fly to Russia at least a couple of times after leaving the USSR are looked upon as real lucky ones. And still, after dozens of years spent away from the homeland, our interlocutor Valentina Borisovna does not regret her choice:
Official data estimate the number of immigrants from the former USSR in Cuba at about 5-6 thousand people. Most of them are women - wives or former wives of Cubans. Given that the Soviet Union collapsed 27 years ago, and then the number of Cuban students in Russian universities plummeted down, most of our compatriots on Liberty Island are women of older age groups.
Valentina Borisovna 41 years ago came to enter Rostov State University from a small village in the neighboring Krasnodar Territory. The girl got a place in the hostel, in the same room with peers - cubes. So she met their friend Jorge, also a Cuban who studied at the Faculty of Chemistry. The girl really liked the guy, but Valentina was shy for a long time to start a relationship with him - still a foreigner, and even an appearance unusual for our country. But feelings turned out to be stronger than all stereotypes and young people began to meet, and then got married. When Jorge completed his studies, Valentina went after her husband to Cuba. She stayed there.
Similar stories of life in Cuba - a carbon copy. Similar fates - meeting a Cuban, marriage, departure to her husband’s homeland. To say that it was hard was to say nothing. Cuba lived very poorly. Students studying in the USSR managed to take everything home, including dummies, to their homeland. Because of US sanctions, there was a real shortage of everything on Liberty Island. Even the products - and those exclusively on coupons, in a very modest amount.
But it saved that the Cubans are a cheerful and carefree people, it is easier to communicate with them than with the same inhabitants of the Arab countries. The climate was also pleasing to our compatriots - until now, millions of Russians can only dream of a distant island in the Caribbean, and the Russian wives of Cubans swam in the sea all year round, enjoying the picturesque scenery.
Over time, some of the former USSR citizens divorced their husbands, others husbands passed away, but almost no one left Cuba - after all, a large part of the conscious life passed here, children and relatives live here. Cuba has become their new home. The only thing that saddens is a low standard of living. Well, the homesickness, of course, is present in those who are doing well with children and husbands.
Even not everyone can afford to fly on a visit to their relatives remaining in Russia - plane tickets by Cuban standards are so expensive that only a few can afford flights to Russia and back. Those who managed to fly to Russia at least a couple of times after leaving the USSR are looked upon as real lucky ones. And still, after dozens of years spent away from the homeland, our interlocutor Valentina Borisovna does not regret her choice:
So it was fate. Even those of my friends who divorced their Cubans already vaguely imagine life in their homeland. And where do you leave from children, from people who have become close to you.
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