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For a long time I could not admit it to myself, but eventually I realized that it was scary to be alone with a child for more than 4 hours. It seems only that he played with him and that’s it. Yes, he played, but only 10 minutes, while he is interested. And then? Something else needs to be thought of. Serious emotional burden, because you are constantly trying to lure him with something at his level. And at the same time, you yourself are all with two higher educations, with an IQ of 135 and such “Ooh, uuu, aah,” you sit and sort out the cubes.

Now, of course, everything is much simpler with us, the son has become quite independent, he decides everything, he does everything, he already communicates, although in an incomprehensible language, most likely it is a mixture of English, French and Arabic, somewhere Russian is probably still there.

— How old is Seva now? He must have left by now?

– 1.5 years. Yes, he is already running. Rocket format. We don’t want to walk, we just run all the time.

– Vanya, how did they let you go on maternity leave at work? They calmly said “OK, good!”

– This was a separate issue. I prepared my boss in advance for the fact that there is such a possibility that my wife will receive an appointment abroad and we are not ready to part: the period is too long and the distance is too long. At first they wanted to pick up a position for me in the country in which we will be. And then, when the child was already born, we decided that it was better for me to go on maternity leave. Direct management reacted calmly to this, but there was a hitch in terms of paperwork.

When I wrote a statement that I was going on maternity leave, the system issued a confirmation “maternity leave was issued to such and such. ” But people who sign the bypass sheet electronically thought it was a joke and did not sign until the last day. I already started calling on December 29, saying that I had tickets in my hands, that on the 31st I would fly out of the country and I would be gone for about a year. Who needs to hand over a computer, a car, everything? Where will you look for me later in Lebanon? In response: “Uh, but what is serious? And we thought it was, they were just checking the system. Oh, we’ll do it now.”

Some of my colleagues said: “Ugh, it’s kind of strange, a man goes on maternity leave, and a woman goes to work.” I answered this: “Guys, if you were offered to live at an average temperature of + 20 ° in winter, when in Novosibirsk it is -30 °, 500 meters from the Mediterranean coast, I think you would also agree.” Most reacted positively, because everyone understands that we went to get experience, to feel in our own skin what it is like to be an expat. A child is happy if his parents are happy.

— Listen, don’t you have withdrawal symptoms, what do you want to go to the office, dress normally, communicate with interesting adults, and not with a child at the childish level all the time?

– It was like that. Now to a lesser extent. A grandmother came to us, who took over 90% of household items, that is, when grandmother was not there, we did not cook ourselves at all. We only ordered because we didn’t have the energy to cook. A special woman comes to us to clean up. And the grandmother came and, accordingly, began to cook, it became easier. And I began to do the same thing that I did in Novosibirsk, only here, with colleagues who work in my company in Lebanon.

– That is, you are a little bit spoofing there.

– Yes, yes, you can say that. We now have 3 hours of daytime sleep, during which time I can do anything. Most of my work is remote. I go to meetings several times a week, they use me as a wedding general: “Look, he is Russian, he knows everything,” because Russians are respected in the country.

– Oh! Russians are respected – this is an interesting point. Tell in details.

— It’s not just “the East is a delicate matter” here, Lebanon is here, everything is so subtle here that sometimes it even frightens. The fact is that ordinary Lebanese believe that they have been hit very hard by the conflict that is currently taking place in Syria. Syria is on the border with Lebanon. The population of Lebanon is 4.5 million people. According to official figures, there are 2 million Syrian refugees here, according to unofficial data – 6 million. This is a little annoying for everyone. There are areas here that you should not go to without local accompaniment. There are districts, kidnapping centers where you come from 90% chance you’ll disappear, you’ll be ransomed and stuff like that. What Google is tactfully silent about.

Why are Russians loved here? There are 3 main enclaves and 16 religious movements that are represented in the government and decide the political situation.

• These are Christians and they are divided into many groups. They say that for them an example of a ruler, a strong leader who could unite everyone, is Putin. And Putin is class! The first thing the Lebanese say when they find out that I’m from Russia is “Putin” and give a thumbs up!
• The second grouping is Sunni Muslims . They treat Russia well because they believe that Russia is the only state that is really trying to solve the problem of Syria. They believe that the Americans unleashed a war there. The majority of the Lebanese people think so.
• And another group Shia Muslims . They once organized the so-called Lebanese Hezbollah group. Hezbollah is recognized practically throughout the civilized world as a terrorist organization. They are still throwing rockets at Israel. It is also the most combat-ready army in Lebanon, more combat-ready than the state army. But Russia recognizes Hezbollah not as a terrorist organization, but as a political organization. For which Hezbollah is extremely grateful to Russia, the Russian government and Putin as well. Even now, in a sense, Russia and Hezbollah are allies. Hezbollah is about the Iranian movement, and our Russian ally is Iran. This is how friendship develops.

Therefore, to all my friends who come to us, I always say, if there are any difficulties or problems, say “Russi, Putin”. Everything! You won’t have any problems! At least you won’t be touched.

— Let’s talk about raising children in Lebanon. Do you see them at all? On the playgrounds, somewhere else?

– Let’s start a little differently. We have activities outside the home 3 times a week. We no longer see the point in loading our baby.

Monday – music class for bilinguals. He is very interested. Within an hour in French, English classic children’s songs. A special teacher with a musical background. We gather in a circle, dance, sing. We play instruments, drums and so on. Plus communication with other kids.

On Wednesday we go to the gym for kids, where we pull ourselves up, learn to do somersaults forward, somersaults back, walk on a log sideways, front, back. This is very good for physical development. The son is out there as best he can.

On Fridays we go to the swimming pool. Learning to swim and dive. We dive well, we swim well only with balls under our clothes that hold air. But the child has no fear of water. If he slipped and fell into the water, he knows what it is, he manages to hold his breath and calmly emerges.

All these events turned out to be very expensive. 12 hourly gym sessions cost $250. 4 hour lessons in the pool cost $120. Therefore, these classes meet either wealthy Lebanese or expats with children. Accordingly, all our communication for the most part takes place with the children of expats. And these are Mexicans, Spaniards, British, Italians, French, Canadians, Australians a lot. Children absolutely do not care what country a person is from, if they find something in common, then that’s it, you can go drink beer while the children are having fun.

There are problems with playgrounds, they are few and paid. There are a couple in the open air and a couple of large playgrounds – in shopping centers. The outdoors were great until June, and in June the temperature started to drop into the 30s and it wasn’t so fun outside anymore. There are more children of Arabs, Lebanese.

The peculiarity of the upbringing of Arab children can be characterized by the phrase “inshala”, which they always say and is translated from Arabic “as God sends.” They grow like grass in them basically. I stumbled, fell, woke up – plaster, inshala. So sent Allah, well, now what to do. He ran, fell from the 5th floor, died, well, inshala, grief, but inshala. It is important to note that this “approach” only works for parents themselves, but not for nannies or caregivers.

Most of the time the child is taken care of by nannies from Ethiopia, the Philippines, North Africa. Their task is for the child to be fed, dressed, washed and not break anything. Everything! In terms of development, they do nothing with children. Babysitters run everywhere with the child, they hold him. It would seem that let him fall, it is soft, safe there, but he will learn to walk. But the nannies keep him, because they understand that from their parents they will fly for any small bruise or scratch. At the same time, the attachment of children to nannies is huge. Several times we observed a situation where a child did not want to go somewhere with his mother, because he was drawn to the nanny. He already perceives the nanny as a more dear person than his mother. Such is the peculiarity of education in rich families.

Local wealthy parents, in principle, believe that they have already exceeded their obligation as parents if they sent the child to a prestigious nursery from 6 months old, where the caregivers speak three languages ​​and study according to the Montessori program, despite the fact that children are fed with anything and there are big questions to hygiene.

It’s a little different in poor families, where the older children look after the younger ones, but there is also no talk of any development, I ate and it’s already excellent. Often, by the age of 6-7, when our children can read, count, children here are not very good at doing this, and some sometimes wear diapers, that is, they do not know what a potty is. How it will turn out, so it will turn out. The fool has grown, what to do now.

— Don’t they have such a thing as mum’s decree?

— Yes. Only here maternity leave is officially 70 days after the birth of a child, and they go to work until the waters break. When the locals find out that I am a dad on maternity leave, they are very surprised: “How is it?”. But then they think to themselves (I found out later): “Yeah, he’s probably very rich, he has money somewhere, so he doesn’t tense up, he sits with a child.” Seems like fun for me. Because there is a very serious stratification of society here: 5% of very rich people and 95% of very poor people. There is no middle class at all. That is, going here, buying a Ferrari is not a problem, a country house on the Mediterranean coast with its 100-meter beach is excellent. This is considered normal. And accordingly, they think, since I am sitting with a child, it means that I can afford it for money, as entertainment. And initially it causes them a certain shock, because a man has to work, and a woman has to take care of the house.

— That is, there is such a patriarchal structure here ?

– Very. And it has a lot to do with religion. Christians here are not the same as in Russia: there are many Orthodox who have never been to churches. Here they regularly go to services every Sunday and everything is as it should be, because they understand that recently there was a Civil War with Muslims who definitely pray, which means that we must also show that we are adherents of God.

— How old is kindergarten in Lebanon?

— Everything depends on the well-being of the family. My wife has an example of a colleague at work, who sent each of her three children to a nursery from 2 months old, because she had to go to work. But on average, from 6 months they give.

Here, in my opinion, there is a very unusual spread in groups: from 6 months to 1.5 years and the next group from 1.5 to 3 years. We went, looked at kindergartens, thought about sending the guy there, so that he gets used to it, communicates more. But we realized that this is not our option, starting with the approach to education and ending with nutrition: because they feed them the same as adults eat. And this is a lot of bread, flat cakes, various allergens and, in general, not a very healthy diet. I would even say very unhealthy. They all say – no problem, bring your food, we will feed yours. I say yes, it would be great if you could control 12 people. That is, if he sees that his neighbor is eating flatbread, do you think he will eat the vegetables that his mother prepared for him? No, he will go to ask his neighbor and eat cakes, because it is more interesting that way.

— Tell me, do they do anything with them in the kindergarten?

– It seems like yes. But everything they do there can be done at home, otherwise why am I here? Given the fact that we see that they have problems with overweight children, they overeat it thoroughly. We decided that we would not take risks, because. now, with the nutrition of the child, his habits for the future are laid. Let him eat homemade, what is cooked at home under our control. To draw – we draw houses, sort out rice, put a small pool on the balcony, throw balls back and forth. We are busy all day long. And Montessori, beloved by everyone here, has an Arabic color and approach: Inshala.

— How do you come up with all this? Where do you read all this, where do you feed?

– When at the beginning of the decree I had crises “played this, played that” and that’s it, my fantasy was running out, then my wife helped me. She told me to look at the Wachanga app for kids. There you fill in the age of your child and he suggests: blind this, do this, take apart the papers, get this. Basically, it’s cool. Then it is no longer necessary, because you yourself understand that you would like a certain line between what is interesting to you and the child.

We are interested in toys in which you can pour water, and it flows, everything is spinning, moving – the physics of processes. The child loves these things. He also loves when something is connected with electricity, where it blinks, glows, or something can be pressed. We can’t get past the wheels at all. Flashlights, turn something on and off, shift something, put the pasta in a bag – great! Transferred to another package. It seems like nonsense, but the guy likes it, the guy has fun. What else do you need, the main thing is that the child is happy!

— Do you have any papal distinctions in your upbringing?

— I try not to complicate life for myself or for my child. If you want to play – play, if you don’t want to play this – play something else. If he is busy, I watch him, see what he is interested in, what attracts him more, what he succeeds in and what he would like to do, but he does not succeed and needs help. But I try not to interfere when he can play alone. When we have a doubles game, when we do something together, this is one thing, but when he plays alone, I just keep him in sight, you never know what can happen. Today there was a curious experiment, before that he was picking in the sand and there were no problems. But for some reason, here on the coast, he decided to try sand from a scoop. I tried it and he didn’t like it.

– You saw that he was already chewing sand and you decided, well, let him chew?

– Yes, he took it in his mouth, I tell him that it is inedible. He tries to spit it out, but fails, then wipes it off with his hands. And that’s it, he probably won’t do it again. That is, it is an experience in which there is little risk, but which gives great knowledge. The same applies, for example, to falling out of bed. We had exactly one fall out of bed. Now he clearly knows where the edge is. He runs up to him and stops. Because he fell off it, it was unpleasant. He didn’t hit himself, he didn’t hurt himself, he was just afraid of a free fall. So when he starts running around on the sofas, I just put pillows on the floor. If he falls, it will be safe and will bring experience. Did we somehow understand that we like kiwi and don’t like semolina? We just tried both. In my opinion, there should be a measured and safe risk in trying out different things.

— Tell me, how do you think your relationship with your son has changed? Does he treat you like a mother now? Or in some other way?

— Of course there have been changes. If earlier, when we were in Novosibirsk, he perceived me as sometimes being nearby, he just thought: “Maybe play, cuddle”, now, when he is afraid of something, he runs to me. But when choosing “mom or dad”, when we are both present, he naturally prefers mom. This is a normal situation.

Previously, he did not perceive me as a source of food, drink, protection, games and entertainment, but now he perceives it that way.

Another Lebanese feature that annoyed me for the first two months is when you walk down the street in an Arab country with a blue-eyed blond child, then everyone comes up and pinches his son on the cheek and says “habibi, habibi” (translated as “dear , beloved, dear”), begin to kiss. Now I realized that it is unrealistic and pointless to fight this. We simply forbid taking pictures: “Stop, haram, know the photo.”

— Does the entire population know English?

– Not always. The first language that everyone knows is Arabic. The second language is French, but I know only 2-3 phrases in it. And then only English. Therefore, you regularly have to turn on empathy of level 80 in order to understand what they are talking about and try to convey some kind of thought. I always say that the most universal language will be sign language.

The population is quite good-natured, positive, they are ready to help. We had a case when we went to the mountains and the person who went with us became ill. Whether the pressure has increased, or something else. We drove past a church under construction and the builders who were there, plus the women who cook there, let the man in to sleep so that he would come to his senses. All this time we were walking around drinking coffee. In English, they only knew “hello” and “welcome”. Everything else is in Arabic or French and, nevertheless, we talked with them for 1.5 hours while the person was resting. I then returned to them with a watermelon. They recognized me, began to take an interest in French about the health of a person, invited me to come in for tea, coffee, lunch.

– Great. Van, I understood about my son, but what about my wife? Have your relationships changed? Moved to a new level after your maternity get-togethers?

Absolutely yes. Because until the moment of my decree, I sort of understood her, tried to help, come home from work to do something, but I did not fully appreciate the complexity and emotional burden when spending time with a child. It’s good that it happened. We have divided all the responsibilities very well. We clearly know in the morning how the fees for work are going on, the process is debugged.

If earlier we spoke as a man and a woman, now we can speak as full-fledged parents interested in the child’s well-being.

It’s not like I, as a husband, bought him pants, and he should be happy. No, it’s not about the pants, but how you spend time with him. How do you treat him. Although this is the case with most people – my task is to get food, your task is to educate. But it’s not. Your task is to educate together. And getting food is the second question.

More understanding. No need to explain that I need time to be alone with myself or go out with a Mexican friend for a beer. My wife understands that this is my time and I need to rest.

The main thing that we understood is that everyone should have their own space and their own time, because one cannot completely dissolve in a child.

A child is a separate person, a person. Yes, he needs to be supported, educated, of course, but you also shouldn’t forget about yourself. Because as soon as you start to dissolve in a child, you will not be as a person. And you will not be able to convey something positive, and the child will begin to perceive you as a function, and not as a person. And this is very bad in my opinion. Therefore, everyone has his own time and he can count on it. You can say – I’m tired, I’m leaving, I need to be alone, leave me alone and I’ll do something for myself.

– In Russia, many mothers begin to find a hobby for themselves, to develop vigorous activities on maternity leave. Do you have something like that?

– I don’t need to invent, because at the moment when I fully adapted with the child, I had the opportunity to continue the work that I was doing. I go in for sports 3 times a week, we spend Saturday and Sunday in some activities, water parks, at sea. While the family is on the beach to sort out the sand, I will continue to learn how to surf.

— Cool! Who do you interact with the most?

— A Mexican lives in our building. This is my friend, also a dad on maternity leave, which brought us together. He is a maternity dad of twins. His wife works at the Australian Embassy. He says that when the nanny comes, he just leaves the apartment for a coffee shop, drinks coffee and is silent. Now we have begun to do playdate, that is, they come to play with us or we come to them. But at first it was very difficult for him. I have a hard time imagining how to deal with two. While you feed and change clothes of one, the second yells. Put down the first one, took the second one, started yelling the first one. Very harsh.

Familiar. The first thing we do after moving is always looking for neighbors with a child to arrange a playdate and walk together.

— The local Lebanese are always smiling, agreeing – yes, let’s play together. But it doesn’t go beyond talk. These are such polite conversations. Expats are more open to this degree because there is not much choice. We are in an expat community with moms and 3 dads (me, English and Mexican). We meet, make joint trips with and without children. And the locals don’t really go for it.

– Did you plan adaptation in any way? How long did it take to figure out what’s what?

Nothing in life happens by accident. A week after we arrived, walking down the street, we accidentally meet a girl with a child. It turned out that she was from Canada and married to a German who works at the embassy. And she told us that they have a community of expat moms and dads on maternity leave with children. We began to communicate there, to meet, to get acquainted. So I found a Mexican friend. We learned a lot of things about the music room, about the gym, about the pool from there, because someone has been living here longer. We all advise each other where to buy. For example, diapers at a special price. And we all go together to buy them.

– I agree, community is important.

– If it were not for someone to talk about this topic, it would be very sad. Because the language is not native and all the emotional burden that a short “Hello. How are you?” – do not pass it on. Want to talk. And so we got along with the Mexican. They are emotionally very similar to the Russians. We have – 10 minutes I say, 10 minutes he says. So we talk, discuss how, where with the children.

– Lastly, your advice or some memorable moment with the child. Is there such a thing?

— We didn’t bring our dog. And we won’t take it anymore and we won’t be able to bring it. And it’s a shame it didn’t happen. I don’t know where it comes from, perhaps for those 8 months that we lived in Novosibirsk, the child loves animals very much, especially dogs. He treats cats well, but when he sees dogs, he just starts squeaking, stamping his feet, laughing, squeezing them. If you have the opportunity, get a dog for a child, even a small one. Teach him how to handle her, that you don’t need to get into her eye or pull her tail, or get a Labrador and all this can be done. We have a labrador. The child, when he was just learning to crawl, climbed on him, fell asleep on him, looked at what was in his mouth, touched his tongue. And it was great. Children learn very well to communicate with animals, namely through dogs. And then with people too. They already approach and do not start hitting on the head, as they do when they want to chat. They already know that they stroked the dog and the person also needs to be stroked on the head. Because the dog will forgive, and the child may be offended and cry.

A memorable moment. There are a lot of them, especially in the trips we went on. I can talk for a very long time. Most importantly, should not be afraid to travel with children. If you think over the program, assign responsibilities and prepare, then traveling with a child is normal. We were in the UAE, Jordan, now we will go to Cyprus. The child is fine with this. When he gets used to it from a young age, he already begins to perceive the trip as a “wow, adventure”. Every time he sees a suitcase, he immediately climbs into it and rejoices.

– It seems to me that when you return to Novosibirsk, you will begin to have a strong withdrawal. You will not be able to sit still and rush somewhere else.

– Maybe. It’s good to be an expat and bad to be an expat. These are slightly different things though.

Such a fascinating conversation we had with Ivan. We welcome your questions and comments!

P.S. This summer, I published a book in poems for children about moving, “The Bear Cub Moves”. With colorful illustrations that you can look at for a long time, look for a mouse, go through a maze on the cover. The poem will help children aged 2-5 and their parents to discuss parting with friends and enjoy moving and traveling, and the book will come to you along with puzzle cards and a cool luggage tag. You can buy the book and learn more HERE:

Lebanon refused 26 thousand tons of Ukrainian corn – RBC

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Dry cargo ship Razoni, carrying 26,000 tons of corn, was the first ship to leave the port of Odessa as part of the “grain deal”. It was supposed to go to Lebanon, but the Ukrainian embassy reported that the buyer refused to accept cargo

Bulk carrier Razoni

(Photo: Emrah Gurel / AP)

The Lebanese buyer of grain from the Razoni dry cargo ship, the first to leave the Ukrainian port since the beginning of the special operation, refused to accept the cargo due to delays in delivery, the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut said on Twitter.

“According to the shipper’s information, the final buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the shipment due to a delay in delivery (more than five months). So the shipper is now looking for another recipient. It can be either in Lebanon or in another country,” the message says.

Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamia said that the Razoni cargo ship, carrying 26,000 tons of corn, had changed its original course to the port of Beirut and is apparently awaiting instructions on determining its new destination.

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Razoni left the Ukrainian port on August 1 as part of a “grain deal” between Ukraine, Russia, the UN and Turkey. As the Turkish Ministry of Defense pointed out, the ship sailed under the flag of Sierra Leone to Lebanon, the A Haber TV channel specified that 26,000 tons of corn were loaded onto it. On the evening of August 2, the ship arrived in Istanbul, where it then went through an inspection: it was checked for weapons and ammunition.

A few days later, dry cargo ships Navistar, Rojen and Polarnet also left Ukrainian ports and headed for Istanbul. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Navistar left Odessa under the flag of Panama and is transporting 33,000 tons of corn. Rojen went from Chernomorsk to the UK. There are 13 thousand tons of corn on board. The cargo ship Polarnet also left Chernomorsk. The ship is sailing under the Turkish flag. There are 12 thousand tons of corn on board. The final destination of the delivery is the port of Karasu.

Russia and Ukraine agreed on the export of Ukrainian grain at the end of July through the mediation of Turkey and the UN. The parties signed an agreement on the creation of a safe sea corridor for the passage of commercial ships with grain from Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny. As part of the deal, Moscow guarantees the safe passage of Ukrainian ships, and Turkey conducts inspections and checks for the presence of weapons on ships.

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Russian diaspora in Lebanon

Estimates of the size of the modern Russian-speaking diaspora in Lebanon vary. According to some data, about 10 thousand immigrants from Russia and the former USSR live in Beirut and other cities of Lebanon, according to others – about 37 thousand people.

Perhaps this discrepancy can be explained by the difference in approaches. Should we consider, for example, a descendant of emigrants in the third or fourth generation or descendants from mixed marriages as a member of the Russian diaspora? Should this number include, say, people from the Baltic states or Ukraine?

Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region of Mount Lebanon and the largest port on the Syrian coast, Beirut, attracted Russian pilgrims and travelers. It was thanks to the pilgrimage that the Russian diaspora began to form there at one time. Russian orientalists A.E. lived in Lebanon for a long time and studied this country. Crimean (in 1896–1898) and I.Yu. Krachkovsky (in 1908-1911).

The Russian diaspora in Beirut was basically descended from Russian Orthodox pilgrims who traveled on foot to Jerusalem and passed through coastal Lebanese cities. Obviously, some of them remained both in Beirut and in other areas in the territory of modern Lebanon.

In the 1920s, a small part of the Russian White Guards, who fled from the Crimea through Constantinople, came to Beirut with the help of the French military administration. In total, about 3 thousand White Guard officers lived in Beirut, who worked throughout Lebanon as topographers and surveyors. The Topographical Society created by them was engaged in drawing up geographical maps for the French army, and then for the French mandated administration. These people tried to keep elements of Russian culture in their families, and besides, they were in constant communication with each other. It is known that in the 1930s the Russian community held the so-called Russian Ball in Beirut every year.

Among the Russian emigrant officers who fled from the Bolsheviks was the family of Alexander Serov, the son of the famous Russian painter Valentin Serov. The Serov family still lives in the same old building that they occupied in the 40s. This is a house in the western district of Beirut, one block from the American University. Grigory Serov, grandson of Valentin Serov, teaches architecture at the University and is known as a well-known watercolor painter in Beirut. Last year V.V. Putin presented Grigory Alexandrovich and his wife Florence (French by birth) with medals for their contribution to the spread of Russian culture in Lebanon. Speaking about his national self-identification, G.A. Serov remarks: “When I come to Moscow, I say that in the 80 years of my life in Beirut I have remained one hundred percent Russian, but I have become one hundred percent Lebanese.”

In 1927, a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) appeared in Beirut. Until 1960, he had his own premises, but then the building was requisitioned, and the church functioned in a private house. Soon, for many reasons, the parish was forced to close. But over time, the number of Russian Orthodox in Lebanon increased, so that in the presence of a large number of Orthodox parishes of the Patriarchate of Antioch, it became necessary to establish a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church, where services would be conducted not in Arabic, but in Church Slavonic. Such an opportunity presented itself after a relative thaw in the religious policy of the Stalinist government of the USSR immediately after the Great Patriotic War.

The Metochion of the Moscow Patriarchate in Lebanon was founded in May 1946 after a visit to the Middle East by Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky) of Moscow. This decision was made taking into account the ardent desire of the Russian residents of the Lebanese capital to have their own Orthodox church. On the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Antioch – the Metropolis of Beirut – a right chapel was allocated for the Russian Orthodox metochion in the name of St. Nicholas of the Annunciation Church in Beirut. The parish has become a religious, spiritual and cultural center of attraction for the Russian Orthodox community. Not only church holidays were celebrated here, but also other dates memorable for the Russian Orthodox inhabitants of Beirut.

The fate of one of the oldest, but still active figures of the Russian diaspora in Lebanon, Irina Alekseevna Zhaber, who has long been acting as the parish warden of the Moscow Patriarchate in Lebanon, is indicative. At the very beginning of the 1930s, her family left Russia. Irina was then quite small. Despite the long years of living abroad, Irina Alekseevna retained her knowledge of the Russian language and love for Russia. She is the author of many publications about the fate of Russians in Lebanon, she actively participates in the events of Russian compatriots, including those held at the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Beirut. Autumn 2009Irina Alekseevna Zhaber celebrated her 80th birthday, on which she was congratulated, among others, by employees of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Beirut, the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Lebanon, members of the Association of Russian Compatriots.

Prof. Souad Slim, a well-known scholar of the Orthodox University of Balamand in Lebanon, a world-famous historian and art critic, had the surname Abu al-Rus before her marriage. Her grandfather was from Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century, he settled in Lebanon and married a Lebanese woman. Of course, Mrs. Professor herself cannot be considered a member of the Russian diaspora, but her case clearly demonstrates the mechanism of single immigration and the long-standing close ties of Russians with Lebanon.

Another type of Russian immigration in Lebanon, which has its roots in the Soviet era and is actively developing at the present time, is the so-called immigration of “Russian wives”. A large number of students and graduate students from Arab countries, in particular from Lebanon, studied in the military and civilian educational institutions of the Soviet Union (in Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Rostov-on-Don, Kharkov and other cities), and now study in Russia. Many of them married Russian girls and note with satisfaction the kindness, beauty and reliability of their wives. It must be said that the Lebanese themselves do not focus on whether their chosen one is from Russia or Ukraine, and consider all Russian-speakers in Lebanon to be Russians. In this case, the difference in the religions of the husband and wife often does not play a role. Sometimes this happens because wives accept the faith of their Lebanese husband. But there are a number of cases when a husband (for example, a native of the Shiite community) is a supporter of the communist idea and does not care about the confessional unity of the family. “Russian Wives” in Lebanon are united by the Women’s Club created in Beirut, which is currently headed by Natalia Samaan.

Children from mixed marriages often have dual citizenship, and most of them speak Russian. Basically, they occasionally come to their historical homeland to their relatives and, in principle, they are quite familiar with Russian culture. Such children tend to study in Lebanese schools and colleges, and many go on to universities. This usually does not take into account the religious affiliation of the university (for example, the Jesuit University of St. Joseph, the Maronite University of the Holy Spirit, the Protestant American University in Beirut, etc.), but only the quality and cost of education.

Russian specialists also live in Lebanon – builders, doctors, teachers, representatives of other professions working under a contract. Children from such families can attend both private schools and colleges and Russian-language educational institutions established by Russian state organizations.

In Beirut, at the Russian Center for Science and Culture, there is a Russian school for young compatriots, as well as Russian-speaking citizens of a number of CIS countries – Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, permanently residing in Lebanon. The school has several dozen students of different ages, united in five classes. In addition, children’s groups for the study of the Russian language operate at the branches of the Center in the Lebanese cities of Tripoli, Nabatyya and Baalbek.

By order of the Government Commission for Compatriots Affairs, a set of new textbooks “Russian Language and Literature Cabinet” was published, as well as Russian language dictionaries, audio materials, didactic and methodological aids. They were handed over to the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Beirut. The center has been operating for about 60 years. It is both an educational and a cultural institution: now the RCSC has classes of the Russian language school, ballet classes, as well as a leisure center for representatives of the Russian diaspora. During the difficult periods of wars and outbreaks of violence in Lebanon, the basement of the building was converted and served as a bomb shelter. According to the director of the RCSC Mansur Khasanov, in order to strengthen its influence in the Middle East, Russia needs to pay more attention to information media, the promotion of Russian culture and literature. Including translating into Arabic the most interesting novelties of scientific and fiction literature, as was the case in Soviet times.

Unfortunately, in Lebanon, as in a number of other countries, there is illegal immigration of Russian-speaking “human goods”. This fact greatly undermines the image of Russia, despite the fact that most of the flow of young women comes from Ukraine. Nevertheless, colossal damage is inflicted on the image of our country in the eyes of the Lebanese and Arabs in general, and efforts to propagate Russian artistic and everyday culture in Lebanon are often nullified. So far, this negative phenomenon has not reached the “point of no return”, but its scale and constancy make us look anxiously into the future of Russian-Lebanese cultural relations.

To strengthen the image of Russia and spread the Russian language and culture in foreign countries, in 2008, on the initiative of the President of Russia, the Federal Agency Rossotrudnichestvo was established, which also has its representative office in Beirut. Rossotrudnichestvo controls 72 cultural centers in many countries of the world. They are working on the basis of the Russian diasporas, taking into account the characteristics and needs of even such small centers of Russian culture as in Beirut. The cultural centers that are subordinated to Rossotrudnichestvo exist both in Damascus (about 500 people) and in Amman.

In December 2009, three figures of culture of the Russian diaspora in Lebanon were awarded diplomas of the Government Commission for Compatriots Abroad of the Russian Federation for their contribution to the development of Russian culture: Vera Eduardovna Dzhurdi, chairman of the Association of Russian Compatriots, Vera, head of the choir of the parish community of the Russian Orthodox Church in Beirut Nikitichna Ghanem and the head of the children’s dance school at the RCSC in Beirut Natalya Viktorovna Semaan.

A collection of articles about the origin and everyday life of the Russian diaspora in Lebanon is being prepared for publication by the Russian community. Members of the old immigrant families I. A. took part in the work on the book. Zhaber, A.Yu. Iordanov, I.D. Malysheva, G.A. Serov, K.B. Novikov, as well as immigrants of the next – Soviet – wave: M. Sariaddin, T. Bahr, E. Mazhir and others.

During Lebanese President M. Sleiman’s visit to Russia, he met with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. Addressing the President of Lebanon, the Patriarch said in particular: “The Russian people living in Lebanon have contributed to the formation of the statehood of your country, to the educational system and culture of Lebanon. And today a large Russian diaspora lives in Lebanon, numbering from seven to ten thousand people.” Patriarch Kirill expressed gratitude to the municipality of Beirut for the decision to allocate a plot of land for the Russian cemetery. The plans include the signing of joint agreements on the development of pilgrimages from Russia to Lebanon.

Aleksey Sarabiev, Research Fellow, Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Russian Century Magazine No. 9 2012

The Russian Church will help provide Lebanon with vaccines against coronavirus / News / Patriarchy.ru

Printable version

June 14, 2021 12:05 pm

Archbishop Leonid of Vladikavkaz and Alan, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, spoke about the results of his last visit to Lebanon, which took place on 7-9June 2021, and about the assistance provided to the Lebanese by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In an interview with the Sputnik agency, Bishop Leonid noted: “The Russian Orthodox Church, through the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, donated funds for the restoration of three objects in Lebanon that were damaged by an explosion in the port of Beirut last August.” The bishop continued: “One of the most damaged objects is the building of the Beirut Metropolis, both the internal frescoes and the building itself need restoration. The second object is a temple located in the same area. Because of the shock wave, stained-glass windows were knocked out in it, and other elements of the interior decoration, especially the walls, were seriously damaged. The third object is the school, which is supervised by the Association of St. Porphyry, a well-known Orthodox organization in Lebanon. In addition to the secondary school classes, there is also a kindergarten.”

Bishop Leonid emphasized that he personally visited all three sites and brought with him materials, thanks to which you can fully track how the restoration process is going.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the DECR, the Moscow Patriarchate will not limit itself to material and humanitarian assistance – the necessary medical equipment and vaccines against coronavirus will be delivered to Lebanon.

“The issue of the transfer of vaccines is very important and relevant at the moment, the coronavirus spares no one. At the Patriarchal residence in Balamand, I was received by His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, who asked for help in providing the Sputnik V vaccine, it is very much expected there. As soon as all related technical issues are resolved, we will send the requested amount of vaccines to Lebanon,” said Archbishop Leonid of Vladikavkaz.

During the visit of the Deputy Chairman of the DECR to Lebanon, other issues were also touched upon, including the topic of emigration of local residents. Archbishop Leonid emphasized: “We share the grief of the Lebanese people that a considerable number of Christians, including Orthodox Christians, still cannot return to their native lands, which they were forced to leave earlier for various reasons.”

At the end of the interview, Bishop Leonid emphasized that his trip to Beirut was of a social and humanitarian nature.

DECR Communication Service/ Patriarchia.ru

Version:
English

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The war in Lebanon through the eyes of Russian and Israeli journalists (Diaries)

mozgovaya. livejournal.com

ALL PHOTOS

Editorial NEWSru Israel turned to four Russian-speaking journalists who worked during the war in Lebanon with a request: to express the impression that their stay in Lebanese territory made on them. These are the diary entries of journalists, each of whom chose his own form to describe the war he witnessed.

Grigory Asmolov, “Kommersant” newspaper
regularly reported from Israel’s northern border, visited South Lebanon two weeks before the end of the fighting

Usually, crossing the border of any country is a ritual. Border guards, passport control, a stamp in the passport … And here, if the tank commander had not announced “Welcome to Lebanon” over the intercom, I would have remained not in the space of Israel or Lebanon, but in the space of the “stern” of the tank. And I must say it is very uncomfortable there, not because it is uncomfortable or scary, but because you are completely cut off from the world and have no control over what is happening – you are locked in this darkness, and what difference does it make Lebanon, Israel or Papua New Guinea.

Then they suddenly tell you – “get out”, like a baby who was born for nine months – they say, it’s time … And you don’t know what’s there … It seems to be Lebanon. And you are born in this Lebanon, you see the soldiers walking on the scorched earth, you go with them, talk, come somewhere, wait: will they start shooting at you (they don’t) or just sleep, because it’s hot, and in this Lebanon, except for artillery shells flying overhead, nothing happens, and then they put you back in the tank and take you back.

And some kind of haze haunts… Or maybe it was not Lebanon, or maybe this Lebanon does not exist at all… And only when you leave the belly of the tank to the land of Israel, and in the first news report that you you hear, the names of the dead are heard again, you understand that Lebanon still exists.

Evgeny Sandro, Russian TV channel NTV
covered this war both from Lebanon (in the first weeks) and from Israel (regularly made reports from the combat zone)

They say that every time has its own “horror stories”. Look, in World War II, Dresden was bombed to the ground – and no one was worried. Many years later. Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote a terrible book about the destruction of Dresden, Slaughterhouse 5 or the Children’s Crusade, would now be called an anti-Semite only for pity for ordinary people who were killed. And all these “who won and who lost” is disgusting, because in a war they always kill just such ordinary people. And here and there…

From the diary:

The bomb falls – cans fall on the floor: canned meat, corn, cookies. The old man picks up the cans, wipes them. The item must be shiny.

Too bad, dirty, gray checkered shirt torn. Too bad there are no buyers. It’s bad that on the other side of the street – right behind this house – there are no others now. It’s empty now. The old man had two dogs at his shop. He killed one himself, with a stick. When I realized that she was eating human flesh. You can’t eat a human. The other dog ran off on its own. She has puppies soon. She ran away to the destroyed houses, and there she will give birth to puppies, and they will come out.

– Why didn’t you leave?
– Where will I go? Who will look after the shop? And it’s time to die, I don’t have any friends left, everything is already there.

Balls. Dust is everywhere. Banks fall to the floor, the old man too. Then he rises and collects the cans, pressing him to his chest.

Sergey Grankin, international TV channel RTVi
almost daily reported from the northern border areas of Israel, in the last days of the war he worked in southern Lebanon

July 12, around noon, when Dan Halutz had already pulled out his money, but did not yet know that the war had begun, I hung out between Shtula and Avivim. The mess was terrible. The road from Shtula to the border was thought to be blocked, and from Avivim it was possible to safely leave for Lebanon. It is good that the militants did not go on the attack. The jeeps were on fire, the charred bodies of soldiers lay inside, no one pulled them out – not before. Helicopters thrashed from all types of weapons on empty Hezbollah towers. The tank left for its last battle before our eyes. There was no air support. The commanders did not yet know that this was not Gaza or Shechem. “Chasing, chasing, chasing in hot blood.” He was blown up by a land mine in half an hour.

On August 14, the day of the ceasefire, I wrote down in my diary a poem by a great and very beloved poet.

My Telemak,
Trojan War
finished.
Who won – I do not remember.
Must be Greeks:
so many dead people leave the house
only Greeks can…
And yet,
homeward road
turned out to be too long,
as if Poseidon,
while we were wasting time there,
expanded the space.
I don’t know where I am,
what’s in front of me.
Some Dirty Island,
bushes, buildings, grunting pigs,
overgrown garden, some kind of queen,
grass and stones… *

What is called – die, you can’t say better.

Well, the main impression is, perhaps, a change of poles. In the rear it was much worse and harder than at the front. It is generally unpleasant to fight at home, and even when they bomb it, it becomes simply scary. There is a feeling of defenselessness and powerless anger.

From I. Brodsky’s poem “Odysseus to Telemachus” (Editor’s note)