Personal experience: it's time for emigrants from Russia to understand that Israel is not Moscow

There is no doubt that Moscow has become a very liveable city over the past couple of decades, no matter at what cost. This is said not only by residents of Russian regions, but also by the capital cities of Europe. That is why Muscovites who have found themselves abroad by the will of fate cannot, or even do not want to get used to other conditions for a very long time. Dmitry Chertkov, a former Muscovite and now a resident of Israel, writes about this in his blog:

"I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. I want to dedicate it to the new repatriates from Moscow. I myself am from Moscow, from its very center. The first time I repatriated was in November 1990. And those 4 years that I spent in Israel were quite unsuccessful for me. I was 20 years old, I was alone. And as soon as I served in the army, I immediately flew to Moscow and stayed there. The next time I came (Aliyah No. 2) in November 2022, with my family. I accepted the country and its inhabitants completely and immediately. This happened in contrast to the 1990s and 2000s. I like everything, everything suits me, and I'm here for good.

I want to share my observations about Muscovites in Israel and conversations around this topic.

It's no secret that people are running away from mobilization today. In large numbers, these "refugees" have a consumer attitude towards Israel – give me a passport-an all–terrain vehicle, and so I don't need you, Israel is a village, all around shtetl, dirt and religious. Moscow's snobbery blooms here in full bloom. If you live in Israel, then only in Tel Aviv or, at least, in Haifa (why in Haifa is a mystery to me). The question concerning my deployment is almost always followed by the question: "Why not in Tel Aviv?". This suggests that people do not even bother to study the issue of moving, do not watch videos, do not read. Otherwise they would have known that Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world. And given the size of the country and the transport network, you can live not in Tel Aviv. The question about Haifa is as ridiculous as the question about Tel Aviv. There are few industrial and industrial facilities in the north. What to do in Haifa? Aliyah of the 1980s and 1990s was overwhelmingly technical. Engineers, technicians, and production workers were traveling in huge numbers. People who, in the total deficit of the Soviet Union, could do a lot, make themselves. The hands grew out of the right place. These people have made a technical revolution in Israel, raised the country to a very great height. Many have retrained and received another specialty.

Today's "military" Moscow aliyah mostly consists of people who are used to hanging out, enjoying life (there's nothing wrong with that) at minimal cost. I would even call this aliya "aliya of downshifters" - bloggers, photographers, designers, actors, journalists, etc.

No guys, nothing will work out for you (with rare exceptions). Israel will devour you and spit you out if you don't change yourself. If you think that you are an Actor, then you can try to get a job in your specialty (and you will do the right thing, you definitely need to try). But I must say right away that neither Kanevsky, nor Nikulin, nor Kozakov managed to do it in full. And they are ACTORS. I knew one photographer who had not a single European exhibition under his belt, he washed dishes perfectly in a restaurant in Givataym. What he's doing now, I honestly don't know.

While you, the repatriated Muscovites, will be sybaritic in a cafe in Tel Aviv, your savings will quickly run out and the only theater that will consider your resume will be the Mariupol Drama ... Do you like the prospect?

The purely Moscow arrogance is very visible – dirty playgrounds, untidy religious children, the school is not in a prestigious/prestigious area, the language is "crooked and the letters are hooks", there are no exhibitions, theaters in such quantity as it was in Moscow.

I often hear "why will I learn the language if almost everyone here speaks Russian? Russian Russian shops, 80% of Russian-speaking children and teachers at school, banks speak Russian... the list can easily be continued. Many, "watering" Israel, do not see the other side. Small children go to and from school by themselves, unaccompanied by adults. And this speaks about security in the country. And classes start at 8 am.

Swim in the sea on December 31, eat strawberries in winter not for the price of a Boeing wing, the sun almost all the time, the grass is green, excellent ecology. This is all "normal", everything is self-evident. Like, it's always like this in Moscow. It will never outweigh the garbage on the playground.

Yes, there is no "pumpkin latte" in Israel, but there is an incredible warmth of the country. There are people here with a huge heart. Love lives here – love for yourself, for your people, for your country. There is a cult of help here. BUT!

You have to accept the country and the people. You will plow like Papa Carlo, for many hours a day, it will be incredibly hard for you. You will break from the absence of Moscow at your side. You will go crazy from the abundance of questions and the lack of answers to them. But one day you suddenly feel all the warmth and love of this country. It will be either through yourself, or children, or parents, but you will feel that this is your country and this is your new home.

Don't be afraid to change and change. It's just unpleasant, nothing more..."