“Russian Planet” find out, why the family from Germany, Greece and Syria moved to Lipetsk oblast.
The locals are already accustomed to the foreigners who come to work in Lipetsk. Italian, Belgian and Japanese factories were built in the special economic zone. However, not a lot of foreigners who moved to Lipetsk oblast. They change their comfortable European city for the unsettled Russian village.
“We walk on gold here”
Lang family from Germany moved to the village of Rzhavets (Zadonsky district) six years ago. They came purposefully to create his family homestead in the vastness of Russia. In six years they built a house, lay out an orchard and planted the garden.
Already 20 families want to live in Rzhavets: several families from the North of Russia and from Germany. Family from the UK also began to build the house here.
To the question about where do immigrants from Germany live, the locals waving his hand to the outskirts of the village: “There live our Germans. Lang’s have the strongest economy”.
If you look at the house, it immediately becomes clear that house belongs to the sturdy burghers. I noticed a typical European habit: there is no fence, only ornamental shrub and roses. There is a pillar with a bell on the border of the homestead marked: “Ring”.
The head of the family Alexander Lang shies away from the conversation. His wife Nadezhda says that he doesn’t like to live in Germany, because in Germany is constantly increasing the retirement age and appears a lot of nursing homes for the elderly. Their relatives consider this attitude unjustified and ask to talk about Germany a bit better. So now Nadezhda carefully chooses words to avoid offending distant homeland.
There are really a lot of nursing homes for the elderly. Because the retirement period increases, people are forced to work, and the elderly are left without family support. My husband and I raised children; we’ll have time for us now. But we are not retired nor in German, nor in Russian law. But we are not retired either in German or in Russian law. Land feed us. If you heard something about Family Homestead Movement, you will understand why we came here. You need to take hectare of land for family place given the fact that the children come to live here. We have two sons (31 and 27 years old). Yes, there is an ecologically clean village in Germany too, but that’s not what we need. There are very dense population and high taxes. The state exists mainly due to taxes. If we got a hectare of land there, we would have had to go back to work to pay land tax. If we’ll work, why do we have a land?
Our children while living in Germany, although come to us every summer. They like to stay here. We hope they will understand someday that the land has always been the only breadwinner. No matter what man says, but he always wants to have own house, independent from anyone. Here we have our own grapes, apples and vegetables. We do not use fertilizers and chemicals — I know what I bring to the table. It makes me happy. Wittingly or unwittingly, begin to observe nature and understand why we live on earth; you begin to ask yourself more serious questions. In the system it is impossible — word “city” (Russian “город”) is derived from word “heap; bulk” (Russian “городить”). So little space in city, so many people start to earn on each other. The city is an illusion, which only pulls out your energy, and the land, on the contrary, gives strength to live.
People are afraid of the country life because they are used to work for the employer. Easier to work for someone else than working for yourself. People have lost a sense of responsibility. In Russia it also happens. Most people in Germany live like this. Only a few people are trying to live independently, and the others go to work for the employer from paycheck to paycheck. Many people satisfied with it.
People often call us with different questions, for example “How to settle in Russia from Germany?”, “How to get land?” We tell honestly that it is very difficult. Germany, from the point of view of the bureaucracy, is also a twisted state, but officials there are able to work clearer and more polite. No such rudeness from officials as in Russia.
Of course we miss our family, but we are not sorry that we moved to Russia. If we take only the material side of life, in Germany, of course, the salary and life is much more decent. But if we take the other side of life — here is more free. For example, if we were built a house in Germany, it would be necessary to take a certain architectural solution. Electricity can only connect by special services. There are high taxes everywhere. In Germany you do not have the right to do something without permission. And here we have abandoned gas heating — it is expensive, house is heated with a wood stove. We dug the well. We have drip irrigation, so we save the water. Now we decided to make a large greenhouse — we will sell seedlings. We grow vegetables, potatoes, we have an apiary. 20 families moved in — it keeps us. Yes, we don’t have a lot of money and don’t live lavishly, but we have enough, and we can provide ourselves. We live on the black soil. You could say we walk on gold here.
Source: Russian Planet, Lipetsk
