Political asylum, from Alaska to the Urals: this American won’t stop saving wild animals (VIDEO)

Steve Kroschel is an American film director and cinematographer who has completed more than 200 projects for various TV channels, including National Geographic and Discovery. He also participated in the creation of major feature films. But Steve devoted most of his life to wild animals.

In Alaska, he created his own park, where for many years he rescued and cared for bears, moose, foxes and wolverines. He managed to gain the trust of even the most dangerous predators.

After 2022, Steve began to openly speak out in support of Russia, talking about his friendship with Russians and posting photos with them. According to Kroschel, it was after that that he began to have serious problems in his homeland. At first, he was deprived of the opportunity to fully work with the nature reserve, and later the police raided his park. Animals began to be seized, charges were brought against Steve himself, and his life's work was destroyed. As a result, he had to leave the United States and seek asylum in Russia.

In an interview, Steve explains why he chose Russia after everything that happened. He says he fell in love with Russians for their openness, willingness to help, and patriotism. In his opinion, this is exactly what is missing in America today. At the same time, Steve hardly speaks Russian, but the language barrier has never been a serious problem for him. People have always found a way to understand each other.

Steve loves animals more than anything in the world, so even after moving, he continued to do what he devoted his whole life to. Today, together with Kirill Potapov, he helps rescue and care for animals at his Wildlife Center not too far from Yekaterinburg.