From the Author

I would like to say that a lot has already been said about Serbia and it does not need a special introduction, but... no. To my surprise, even in the all-knowing world network, it is a lot of work to find enough information about this small and proud country:) Thanks to many travelers and emigrants who allow us to collect an image bit by bit in their articles and reviews.

As one of these immigrants, I have never written about Serbia before, except for extensive comments on social networks:) At the same time, Serbia and I, and especially Belgrade, have something to tell you about.

My future love for Serbia originated in the pages of the book. V.S. Pikul in his novel "I have the honor" wrote with genuine trepidation and respect for Serbs who were not bent in the winds of big politics and stood up for their truth. The writer painted a portrait of these people with the colors of nobility, kindness, and honesty. I remember how musical and dear to my heart the traditional Serbian names sounded - Radomir, Dragolub, Branimir and female - Slavica, Bogdana, Divna. As capacious and romantic as the entire Serbian language, reminiscent of Old Slavic fairy tales to Russian hearing. I still thank my friend Dmitry, who practically made me read this book at that time, giving me two loves for life - Serbia and Pikul.

A lot of time has passed since my first acquaintance with Serbia on the lines of the novel, and Serbia remained in my memory as one of the distant fascinating worlds I have read about. And only about 10 years later there was a crazy, seemingly strange idea to visit Serbia for tourist purposes (after all,  who would go on vacation to Serbia when the choice was between it, Spain and Italy:).

But say no words more. Having preceded my journey by studying the history and culture of the country, and making acquaintances with locals on social networks, I visited the Balkan land for the first time. And... almost from the very first moments, I felt at home.

Is it about the similarity of the architecture of proud Belgrade with classical Russian, mostly thanks to the work of architect N.P. Krasnov, who emigrated to Belgrade after the revolution of 1917, or about close Serbian mentality, or the similarity of a language that allows us to understand each other even without translation, but sunny Serbia after the first trip settled in my head an exciting idea of moving.

Friends and acquaintances at home often asked the question - why there? Is it better there? I could never really answer this question. No, not better. So familiar and at the same time so different! I believe that there are no bad and good places, there are places on our planet where each of us feels less or more happy. I never thought I would leave Russia and never wanted to. Therefore, for me, moving to Serbia was not because of the rejection of my country, but rather, out of the desire to become a bit happier :)

To prepare for the move, I designated a year for myself. I spent this time learning at least the basics of the language, developing professional skills that may be in demand there, and passing control of my health and financial well-being. And even though it is impossible to be ready for everything - indeed, my specialty was not in demand abroad anyway, and appendicitis did not ask where it was more convenient for me to have surgery - yet this allowed me to create a stable idea of how to live in another country.

But it was still insanely scary. It was scary that I would miss my dear people and home too much, scary as I thought that I was burying my career, scary that I would not find friends and another 100,500 of all sorts of other "scares". However, the worst thing for me was not to try and live life with regret about it.

And that's why on September day of 2020, I flew away from my hometown with one suitcase in my hands (albeit immensely in size), with my sister, who was going to go back. The most difficult thing was to say goodbye to my mom, but I was comforted by the idea that by the standards of Russian distances I flew no further than, for example, from Chelyabinsk to Moscow.

Today, I have been living in Belgrade for the second year. And yes, of course, I miss my home. But at the same time, the Serbian regions have become so dear to me. Thanks to the fact that I knew where I was going and what I should have expected, I was not disappointed. And as soon as everything got better, Serbia gave me an incredible number of happy moments and taught me the simple joys that I lacked at home. I still learn about new cultures, including my native - on Serbian soil, I met Russians from those distant lands of my vast homeland, from where I have never met any in my entire life at home. And in addition to them and my beloved Serbs, I made friends with people from all over the world, communication with whom I would not exchange for any money :) And all my "scares" stepped back - I found both a job and friends and, most importantly, a society in which I am pleased and comfortable to live - among the kind and friendly people who know how to live their lives but not just to pull an important social strap.

By the nature of my activity, I am a lawyer. Since a lawyer is a specialist in the field of law of a certain country - in my case Russia - at first, my services were not in demand by Serbian employers. I did not consider a change in my professional field, as I love law with all my heart. Since childhood, when my female friends wanted to become singers or actresses at school, I already knew I will become a lawyer. The age of high technology and the covid epidemic left their mark on reality, and I finally got a job in a prestigious Moscow company for remote work.

Due to certain political events in the world, it has become difficult to work in Russia living abroad. These changes forced me to change my place of work - now I work for a consulting agency in Belgrade dealing with financial and legal issues around the world.

Therefore, no matter what brings you to this site - philistine curiosity, search for information on moving, or the need for its legal and organizational support, I hope that I can help you in word and deed. I tried to collect the maximum amount of both useful and entertaining information, but if you have any questions that are not covered on the site - feel free to contact me here.