The truth about emigration: Why I returned from England to the Russian countryside (VIDEO)

Stepan Kopiski was born in Russia into a family with an unusual cultural background: his father is an Englishman, John Kopisky, and his mother is Russian. Since adolescence, Stepan dreamed of going abroad, believing that it was there that he would be able to build a successful and fulfilling life. Against the background of the supposedly limited possibilities of provincial Russia, his dreams seemed bright and promising. Then his father decided to send Stepan to a small town in England with 400 pounds in his pocket, so that he could try to build his future life in Europe on his own.

However, a week later, Stepan's illusions began to dissipate. He faced a deep cultural gap: an alien mentality, an unusual way of life and difficulties of social adaptation made his life much more difficult than he imagined. Finding decent work proved to be a difficult task, and high taxes plus the high cost of living in the UK made the situation even worse. Despite the difficulties, Stepan did not give up. At first, he got a job as a cook, and eventually even took the position of restaurant director. Thus, he lived in England for several years, accumulating experience, but gradually realizing that a foreign land had not become his home.

As a result, Stepan made an important decision to return to his homeland, to the Vladimir region. Here, on the Kopiski family farm, he found what was so lacking abroad: a sense of belonging, proximity to roots, support for loved ones and traditional values. Today, Stepan works as a sous chef in a restaurant and devotes a lot of time to raising his children, trying to convey to them respect for Russian traditions.