What's life like for an Indian in the Russian North? (PHOTOS)

“Thinking about my future, my mother found an ad in the newspaper offering to study as a doctor in Russia. She kept it, but didn't say anything to me; she wanted me to choose my own path in life. And I chose medicine, even though there were no doctors in our family before me," Joe Aloysius from the southern Indian state of Kerala recalls.

Eleven years ago, he went to the north of Russia to study at a medical university in Arkhangelsk. Most of his compatriots returned home after graduation. But, he stayed and now lives in the city of Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Region.

“In India, paid education is very expensive, plus, due to the caste system, it's difficult to get into university and then you still have to validate your diploma, losing two years,” Joe says.

“In those two years, I already became a practicing doctor here. And that's why I advise my Indian friends: why are you struggling? The conditions are much better in Russia. Come to us in Arkhangelsk!”

At 28, he is already a respected surgeon and even a bit of a TV star: local channels feature stories about him and, last year, Joe took part in the TV show ‘Rabotyagi’ (‘Working Guys’) on the federal channel ‘Pyatnitsa’ (‘Friday’).

Immersion into Russian life

The first thing Joe learned about the local food and customs was that in the north, people mostly ate raw or salted fish. In India, they would fry everything with spices, but, there, almost no one uses them.

Later, in the canteen near the dormitory, the Indian native tried a chicken fillet in sour cream sauce. Sour cream instead of the usual curry or chutney was a surprise, but he says he liked it. In India, rice is pretty much the only grain people eat, so another discovery in Russia was buckwheat. He took a liking to that, too. Meanwhile, his favorite dish is borsch soup.

“Through food, I entered Russian culture and adapted very quickly. And people helped me with everything else. But, I also studied a lot myself; I was attentive, listened to how people spoke around me and tried to practice as much as possible.”

Difficulties with the Russian language

At first, the difficulties were with patronymics. It was completely impossible for an Indian newcomer to remember and pronounce the full name of a professor, in Joe’s case, a certain ‘Vyacheslav Stanislavovich’. So, they were even allowed to address teachers simply as "ma'am" and "sir”.

“Everyone praises me for my knowledge of the language, but I still make mistakes: Recently, I was filling out documents for purchasing medicines and instead of 'camphor spirit' [‘kamforny spirt’] I wrote 'comfortable spirit' [‘komfortny spirt’]. My colleagues later joked that, in this case, comfort is determined by the quantity!”

Joe learned Russian in Arkhangelsk, so he speaks like an Arkhangelsk native, with a slight northern accent and the characteristic pronunciation of the unstressed 'o'.

Life in the North

Before coming, Joe was told he needed to buy a winter jacket. But, it turned out that the thickest jackets in India were still too light for Russia. When he arrived, it quickly got cold in Arkhangelsk and, suddenly, it was minus 37°C (-35°F), with knee-deep snow.

“We had only seen snow in movies and how people throw it at each other without gloves. We ran out to throw it, too. Our hands quickly went numb and we were, like, 'Aha, that was the movies; we need to buy gloves!' And, over time, I realized that I prefer the cold to the heat. In the cold, you can dress warmly, but, when it's hot, there's no escape.”

In winter, Arkhangelsk has only 3-4 hours of daylight, but Joe says he is used to it and is comfortable with it; it doesn't prevent him from getting enough sleep. But, he admits it was tough, at first: It's dark in the morning and when you come home from work it's already dark, too. His parents asked if the sun ever appears and how one can live like that.

“Russians themselves say that when there's little light, it's sad. But, I have so much work that I don't notice it. When you're busy with work you love, day, night – everything flies by very quickly.”

Would choose Arkhangelsk Region again out of all of Russia

“In India, I knew almost nothing about Russia: just the Red Square and about the world's strongest leader, Vladimir Putin. I started traveling around the country during holidays and then on vacation. I've seen Moscow and it's not for me, too much noise, bustle, people don't look at each other and everyone is chasing after money. I've been to St. Petersburg five times; it's gorgeous, I liked it a lot. I've been to Kirov and found it's similar to Arkhangelsk, a normal city. I went to Kaliningrad and it was very nice, so I would even move there, but they don't have the northern salary bonus there.”

Joe plans to continue traveling across Russia. But, he asserts that, for living, he would still choose Arkhangelsk Region. He already has friends, colleagues, and professors he can ask for advice there.

Since 2022, he has been working as a surgeon at a hospital in Severodvinsk, which is located 40 km from Arkhangelsk. He is already well-known in the city and patients often return specifically to him for further treatment. They say they rarely meet such a cheerful and friendly doctor.

In his free time, Joe likes to sing and play guitar – he loves Russian music very much and has even performed at events, both at his university and at city events.

“Once, I sang the 'Valenki' song in a folk costume. It made a sensation,” Joe laughs and admits that, during his time in Russia, he has become almost Russian.

The full version of the article was published in Russian in the ‘Nation’ magazine.