My story
As a native of Buffalo, New York, I had no idea that my political campaign experience with John Edwards’ presidential campaign in Newton, Iowa, would lead me to a life-changing journey. My team and I went door-to-door to encourage voters to participate in the Democratic caucuses that year, which led to Edwards’ surprising second-place victory. This experience inspired me to continue my studies in political science, which brought me to the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
After my freshman year, I participated in a study abroad program in St. Petersburg, Russia, where I not only improved my Russian language skills but also learned about the country’s rich history and culture through excursions, field trips, and cultural events. I fell in love with Russia, its people, and its culture, and decided to take a break from college to live and work in Russia. I earned a TEFL certificate and found work as a native English-speaking teacher of English in one of Russia’s smaller, provincial cities. Living in provincial Russia gave me a genuine experience of the country that I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.
However, I had to return to the United States in 2008 due to the economic downturn, which hit the private language school sector in Russia hard. I continued my university studies at the Institute of Applied Linguistics at Kent State University, where I pursued Russian translation as a major. My proficiency in the Russian language had improved significantly during my stay in Russia, which made me more confident in pursuing that major. By that time, I had also grown politically disillusioned by the course of American discourse and the direction of the country overall and wanted to stay out of politics.
However, life is full of contradictions. Hence, despite my desire to be closer to home, I left Kent State and moved to California to fulfill my dream of moving to the west coast. I chose San Diego because of my passion for the Chargers and began working there as an ESL teacher for foreign students on a college campus. Likewise, despite my disillusionment with the state of American politics and the direction of the country, I continued working on my bachelor’s degree in political science remotely through Oregon State University.
In 2016, I made a difficult decision to leave my country out of a sense of hopelessness for its future. At the time, it seemed like the inevitable coronation of Hillary Clinton as president was a foregone conclusion, and I felt disillusioned with the hyperpolarized and politicized environment of American society. I sought refuge in provincial Russia, where I could lead a private life and work as an English teacher.
Unexpectedly, Donald Trump’s victory in the election brought a glimmer of hope and a renewed faith in our country. However, by that time, I had already settled into my new life in Russia and was content with the new life I began to build there and new and old friends with whom I was able to connect. I did not return to the US simply because of the change in political leadership.
Nevertheless, Trump’s victory propelled me back into politics. In 2014, I had started a quirky and admittedly fringe secessionist campaign in California as a way to vent my frustration with the political system and the establishment in Washington. The campaign was founded during the height of the tea party movement and was inspired by Thomas Jefferson and the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Although I was physically on the other side of the world, I remained the leader of that campaign and did my best to prevent it from being co-opted by opportunists with leftist political ideologies who would have promoted identity politics, radical social transformation, and other aspects of leftist ideology I abhor. Instead, I used it as a platform to criticize American foreign policy, the military-industrial complex, and my other political opinions, such as in support of National Divorce.
Unfortunately, as time in Russia went on, I began to see troubling signs that the personal liberties and the largely apolitical nature of Russian society that I had enjoyed while living in Russia was being eroded. The Russian government became increasingly brazen in its assault on these values.
On a more frequent basis, Russian authorities started wrongfully detaining American citizens, who were then subjected to trial in kangaroo courts that delivered years-long sentences for offenses that, even if legitimate, were minor in nature. A Russian friend of mine, himself a minor celebrity, helped me pen a letter to the Russian foreign ministry pleading for their release.
In the summer of 2019, I myself was detained by Russian police during an unsanctioned rally held in support of a journalist who had been framed for drug trafficking to prevent him from exposing government corruption. Thousands were detained and cited for the simple offense of exercising their right to peaceful assembly. My release, which was captured on video, became a viral story in Russia, as I was released after pretending to be a visitor who did not understand Russian.
Then in January 2021, Alexey Navalny was arrested upon his return to Russia after failing to check in with his parole officer while he was in a coma in Germany after having been poisoned by Russian intelligence agents during a trip to Siberia.
During the last couple of years that I spent in Russia, the sense of an increasingly powerful and present police state, especially in the lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine, became more palpable. Russia no longer felt safe for westerners. For the safety and wellbeing of my family, we left shortly before they invaded Ukraine.
We are now excited to start a new chapter of our lives in rural Arkansas. I look forward to contributing to my community and making a positive impact. Although my experience has taught me that politics can be a messy and frustrating business, I remain committed to promoting the principles of the Declaration of Independence and defending the personal liberties and freedoms that are the foundation of a free and just society.