How Africans Live in Russia: Non-Fictional Stories of Interracial Love

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On October 13, 2018, Gabriel Shogun Ajayi, a prince from Nigeria, died in Cherepovets. For several years he had lived permanently in Russia, was married to a Russian, and raised two sons. In our review, we decided to recall the invented stories of the relationship of Africans with Russian women, which led them to marriage. How do such families live, what difficulties do they face in our reality?

Gabriel Shogun Adjayi and Natalya Vedenina

He signed up for a dating site in 2009, hoping to get to know a girl. Among several representatives of the fair sex who drew attention to his profile was Natalya Vedenina, a nurse's assistant from Novye Ugly, Cherepovets district. Despite the 18-year age difference, they immediately hit it off. True, at first they needed an electronic translator to communicate. Gabriel had already dreamed of coming to Russia to visit his beloved, but it was not at all easy for the son of a king of one of the Nigerian tribes to obtain a visa. That is why Natalya flew to the homeland of a person who, after several years of communication, became her family. On May 28, 2013, in the city of Lagos, their wedding took place, and the wedding, according to local traditions, sang and danced for 6 days.

The newlyweds decided to live in Russia. Gabiel had a hard time. By education, the prince is an IT specialist, but he could not find a job in his specialty without a decent knowledge of the language. But he graduated from the courses of tractor drivers and in 2017, finally received Russian citizenship. At one of the agricultural enterprises, he had to face outright rejection due to the black color of his skin. He quit his job and became a tractor driver on another farm where colleagues showed no signs of racism.

In 2017, twin sons, David and Daniel, appeared in the family. And their father was thinking about starting his own business. And again I ran into difficulties. He even turned for help to the governor of the Vologda region, Oleg Kuvshinnikov, with a request to support his business project.

Natalia and Gabriel planned to travel with their children to Nigeria to visit her husband's relatives, they wanted to open their own clothing store. But their joint dreams did not come true. The 32-year-old prince died on the night of October 13 at an entertainment club in Cherepovets. The cause of death was a massive heart attack. 50-year-old Natalia now has to raise her sons herself.

Jean Gregoire and Svetlana Sagbo

He was born in Benin and had to struggle with something all his life. With prejudice, racism, social injustice and inequality. Even for the right to be friends.

When Jean Gregoire Sagbaud, as a student of the cooperative institute, made friends with Svetlana, the girl was persecuted by the leadership of the institute. She was accused of being in touch with a foreigner, although they only communicated. And he was almost taken to a psychiatric hospital for trying to prove that there is nothing reprehensible in his friendship with Svetlana. The husband left the girl, Jean began to support her. Then their feelings arose. They soon became husband and wife.

They had to go through a lot until the moment when everything in their life finally settled down. The trip of the spouses, whose son was already growing up by that time, to her husband's homeland ended with his arrest and imprisonment. Then he was accused of anti-government actions. Svetlana returned home and waited for Jean for three years. And only after his return to Russia, their life began to slowly return to normal: a second son was born, business began to develop.

But active Jean could not sit still. He then advocated putting things in order in the entrances, then fought for the installation of a playground. And as a result, fellow villagers in Zavidovo, where Jean Gregoire Sagbo lives with his wife and sons, elected him first as a deputy of the village council, and then as a district councilor.

Marius and Elena Akuque

The founder of the PLUS SIZE Moscow modeling agency Elena Gracheva met her future husband thanks to her friend, who by that time had been happily married to an African American for several years. After looking closely at the photo of a serious young man, Lena decided to go on a date. And it turned out that she met the man of her dreams. They had common views on life, coincided interests, and in general, between them instantly ran the very spark that became the beginning of great love.

After 4 months, Marius proposed to Elena, and on May 9, 2013, they became husband and wife, marrying in Nigeria, the homeland of her husband. Relatives of Marius warmly welcomed Elena, and Lena's mother supported her daughter. The girl's father did not immediately accept the fact that his daughter chose an African as her husband. He lived separately from his family and, seeing his daughter with her husband and grandson on the doorstep, was slightly taken aback. True, the man quickly realized: his daughter was happy. Now he is proud of his grandson and tells everyone how wonderful he is. Elena is saddened only by the attitude of her grandmother. Even five years later, she still did not come to terms with the choice of her granddaughter and could not fall in love with her black great-grandson.

Elena and Marius often have to face rejection of their relationship from unfamiliar people. However, they know that their feelings are real, and they are happy, which means they can overcome any difficulties.

Innocent and Natalya Molodkina

She saw him in 2010 in one of Vladimir's clubs. The young man attracted her attention with his unusual plasticity and graceful dance. Then he did not know Russian at all. But Natalya, who worked as a foreign teacher in the gymnasium, knew English perfectly. Easy communication in a common company brought young people closer together, they began to meet, and soon live together. They were able to sign after the birth of their son Yakim, whose full name sounds like Abuem A Ibong Charles Yakim.

Sometimes spouses are offended by the obsessive and not always pleasant attention to their family from others, but they try not to dwell on this. The main thing is that complete harmony reigns in their family. Innocent, as it should be, fully provides for his family, Natalya is raising a son. The head of the family teaches dancing in Moscow and Vladimir, and also manages to help his wife with the housework and spends a lot of time with Yakim.

Blacks in Russia have appeared and were born since the eighteenth century, when the fashion for lackeys and maids, musicians and artists of African descent came from Europe. In the USSR, a new wave of African genes was brought by the novels of girls with students from friendly hot countries, and in Russia they have already begun to conclude marriages - the question of citizenship was not so acute. Black Russians live an ordinary, in general, life, master different professions, including acting in films.