The large Orthodox Platt family settled in Sergiev Posad near Moscow in October 2019.
According to the head of the family, John Platt and his wife Anna, the reason for the move was the government's policy aimed at destroying the traditional family, the Black lives matter movement (BLM), which often terrorizes the white population under the guise of combating racism, and LGBT propaganda ...
“We generally felt insecure.
In America, people don't trust each other, ”says Anna.
In addition, according to the woman, there is now an open attack on the traditional family and LGBT propaganda in the states.
“At the school where our children studied, the students were asked to think about who they think they are and want to be: a boy or a girl,” says Anna.
And John recalls how, five years ago, African-Americans moored his eldest son Rafael on a bus.
For some reason, according to John, it seemed to them that a blond, skinny physique had voted for Trump in the elections.
They surrounded him and said, "We are going to beat you."
Although his son at that time was only 15 and he could not vote.
“They only fell behind him after he lied that he was dangerous and just got out of jail,” John smiles and adds that now it all sounds funny, but then they were not laughing.
As a result, according to John, they began to think about moving to another country, where they would support traditional family values and co-religionists lived.
Moving
In May 2019, John and his eldest sons came to Russia "for exploration" - they were choosing a place.
The choice was between Moscow, Sochi and the cities near Moscow - Pushkin and Sergiev Posad.
As Anna admits, "Sergiev Posad won."
“In America, in Rochester, New York, we lived about the same distance from big cities.
There is a lot of smog in big cities, but here we really liked it - green and fresh air.
In addition, the Lavra is located here, "Anna explains to RT.
© Photo from personal archive
According to her, in order to save money for visas and travel tickets, I had to save.
John's parents also helped.
In October 2019, a large family moved to Russia.
“We couldn't sell the house for a long time.
It was in a dilapidated state, and no one needs such.
In addition, it was difficult to sell it because of the well-known American problem - everything is bought there on credit, '' John tells RT.
“But we were lucky.
Literally on the day of departure, a buyer was found, and we immediately made a deal. "
As Anna recalls, moving to another country was not easy for a large family.
They had 18 suitcases with them.
The paperwork and baggage check-in took so long that they even delayed the plane's departure by half an hour.
“Kind people helped us a lot with the choice of a house and the first adaptation in Russia.
In general, everyone in Russia is very friendly and helped with some simple things and with orientation, ”one of the eldest sons, Miron, tells RT.
"Kindness amazes"
In Sergiev Posad Platty rented a small two-story house.
On the ground floor there is a large kitchen with a huge table in the center, at which all family members can sit at once.
The Platts have nine children, and now Anna is pregnant - expecting the tenth.
To the right of the table, the entire corner is hung with icons, and a red icon lamp hangs next to it.
Children's rooms on the second floor.
John says that while he is working alone in the family, they have enough money both to rent a house and to teach children in a private school.
"I am a computer programmer.
I work remotely for an American company and make websites for stores with essential goods, says Platt.
- That is why I speak Russian badly, because all my communication is in English.
But the children speak Russian better, because they speak Russian at school. "
© Photo from personal archive
John is especially proud of the lawn, or rather, its absence.
The grass in the yard at the Platts is almost knee-deep.
“In America, they make sure that the grass is not taller than this size (points with fingers about 15 cm. -
RT
).
And here there are no fines and no need to mow the grass.
And we are glad that here we can walk barefoot on the tall grass and do not need to constantly monitor its length, ”explains the head of the family, watching the younger children swing on the swing.
At this time, Anna appears on the porch and calls the family to the table.
Before the meal, the whole family gets up and reads the prayer "Our Father" in Russian.
The meal ends with the same prayer, but in English.
According to the Platts, while they are in Russia very much, but they are especially struck by the kindness and responsiveness of Russians.
© Photo from personal archive
“A year ago I went for a walk with Masha.
She put her in a stroller, and she wanted to put on winter shoes on that hot summer day.
We are walking down the street and several women stopped me and said that they could give the baby shoes that they didn’t need since we were so poor.
And I tried to explain to them that we have everything, it's just a child's decision, but all I could say was “she wants”.
Nobody understood me, and I had to take my shoes.
But this kindness and responsiveness is amazing, ”says Anna.
According to her, the children have already settled in the new country.
Seniors go to school, and in their free time they do craft.
There is a small workshop on the site where Miron makes leather goods, Hera carves wooden boxes, and Gavril forges knives.
In addition, the guys sing and play musical instruments.
In the mornings, the family goes to the service at the Church of the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to Sergius and Micah of Radonezh, which is located not far from their home.
However, Plattes have not yet become full-fledged citizens.
They also apply for a residence permit in Russia.
Anna says that the other day they visited the migration service, where they were agreed to provide them with a quota for obtaining a residence permit without a queue.
“They have entered our position.
In addition, my distant relatives lived in the USSR in the Carpathians.
But now we are in Russia on a tourist visa.
We wanted to get a visa for a highly qualified specialist, but for that we had to return to America in two weeks, and this is no longer possible, ”says Anna.
In Rochester, the eldest son Rafael remained, with whom the family had not seen since the moment of departure. Due to closed borders, he will not be able to come to his parents before obtaining a residence permit. As Anna admits, Raphael is also already thinking about moving to Russia with his family.