EGN NEWS DESK
For Russians seeking to have enjoyable or safe their property, the tiny kingdom remains to be a spot the place you possibly can party prefer it’s 2021.
“The very wealthy Russians by no means had issues” in France, mentioned Hélène Metlov, president of La Maison de la Russie à Nice, a French-Russian cultural NGO in Nice. Soon after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the variety of Russians within the French Riviera swelled, with refugees fleeing to neighborhoods in Cannes or Nice which nonetheless have Russian-named streets, orthodox church buildings and buildings.
However, the middle-class Russians dwelling within the space for many years “confronted all of the obstacles of regular immigrants on the subject of renewing their residence allow.”
From his workplace in Villefranche-sur-Mer, Russia’s Consul General Sergei Galaktionov says this drawback has elevated his workload up to now two years.
“Russia’s helped poor individuals there, paid for the area’s railways and invested loads within the economic system,” mentioned Galaktionov, typically studying from notes ready by his boss, Russian ambassador to France Aleksey Meshkov.
Galaktionov holds court docket with passing law enforcement officials as he wanders the streets, declaring ties his nation has with the area, together with statues of well-known Russian admirals. Police officers greet him with huge smiles and a respectful “Monsieur le consul” as he wanders across the close by Fort du Mont Alban.
It was in that fort that Galaktionov deliberate to prepare a cocktail party on Russia’s nationwide day in June, he mentioned. (Kevin Thuilliez, head of communications for Villefranche-sur-Mer, mentioned the native authorities weren’t concerned in any such party, because the organizer discovered a non-public companion to assist host the occasion.)
“Despite political crises, Russians have remained devoted to France and the area.”
