In former times people went westward for religious freedom, today people flock to the East to escape persecution.
by Ed Peters
After leaving the West due to the force feeding of immorality, the Martens family have happily settled into Russian society.
The following clip taken from Russian news with a transcript below gives an update on how their new life in Russia is going.
Transcript:
Anchor:
We’ll continue the German topic telling you about a German family that made a decision to settle in Russia. The hero of our today's program is Eugeny Martens, who is ethnically German but feels in Russia more at home than in Germany. He has no intentions of leaving Stavropol ever again.
Maria Saushkina went to see the amazing German.
Correspondent:
I'm at the picturesque Arkhyz Resort. The Caucasus has always been famous for its hospitality. Today, the Martens family was welcomed on these fertile lands most cordially. Both locals and the family are happy, for today it’s essential for them to be closer to nature.
The family of Russian Germans, as they refer to themselves, are planning to spend the weekend in the country. The parents and their ten children. The funicular soars up. The mountain landscapes are breathtaking. Dimon, the oldest, is fluent enough in Russian to share his impressions.
Dimon:
"It’s very high here, there’s a lot of snow, it's very beautiful, I really like it!"
Correspondent:
While children are playing snowballs at the top, parents are planning the family's future.
Eugeny Martens:
"We want to buy land to plant a vegetable garden by spring, we'll grow vegetables, fruit, mainly potatoes, onion, garlic, and so on. We are looking forward to obtaining our citizenship papers."
Correspondent:
This is the log cabin the family will be staying in over the weekend. Eugeny Martens is a German who grew up in Siberia in the Soviet era, and went back to Germany, his ancestors’ homeland, during perestroika. He’s a carpenter and dreams of building a house like this in Stavropolye.
Eugeny:
“- Do you like it?
Louise:
- It's made of wood, right?
Eugeny:
- It is, wood always makes you feel good.”
Correspondent:
The Martens family lived for 18 years in the German village of Berg in North Rhine-Westphalia. They owned a traditional Fachwerk-style house, a farm, a workshop, a small Mercedes truck, and a 14-seat van. They lived in peace.
But the educational system imposed weird values, and the way the so-called sex education was presented was something the parents couldn't put up with. Fighting with the system turned out to be quite difficult. Children came home from school in tears.
Melita Martens:
"The teacher made me leave the classroom when I refused to take part. They tried to drag me back anyway. The entire school heard me crying."
Eugeny Martens:
"We were accused of our daughter missing a sex education class. They reported it to the school department, and we were to pay a fine, but we didn’t on principle. Finally, four policemen came to our house, to arrest me in front of the whole family."
Correspondent:
Louise and Eugeny decided to go back to Russia. Louise, Eugen's wife, is also a Russian German from Chelyabinsk, her parents left for Germany in the 90s.
In Stavropol, they were welcomed by people who helped them by letting the family use their empty house. Of course, it got repaired before the Martens' arrival. Now, the mother and her 6 daughters are making it into a cozy home.
Louisa Martens:
"They cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner by themselves. The next day, they switch."
Correspondent:
The head of the family talked about the family tree at lunch. Their ancestors, Russian Germans, had moved to Russia long ago.
Eugeny Martens:
"Under Catherine II, many Germans came right from Germany in their carts. Their families were big, they'd put their children on carts and that was how they came to Russia, to the Crimea and the Volga region. As far as I know, back then, Germany was undergoing a famine and it was hard to live there."
Correspondent:
The large family has an entire floor all to themselves. A room for the girls, another one for the boys. They made friends with a neighbor's dog, and everyone from the neighborhood does their best to help out for the family from Germany to settle in their new home.
Eugeny Martens:
"They helped us with our basic food, such as potatoes, cabbage, onions."
Correspondent:
In warm evenings, the younger sons help Eugeny to cook in the backyard. That's when they start talking about their pain points.
Eugeny Martens:
"We discuss it with our children at home. But we do it to certain limits, and we take into account each child's age and personality. Our family was imposed some morals that are unacceptable to us. I guess someone is interested in Germany not getting close to Russia."
Correspondent:
In a month, older children will go to a Stavropol school, and meanwhile, they’re learning Russian in an accelerated mode. At home, their parents immerse them in the language, and at school, they improve their skills with the teacher.
The teacher:
"As usual, as we always do, we start our class."
Correspondent:
While the parents' citizenship is pending, the head of the family is working as a driver. He has to learn the traffic rules again, of course.
Eugeny Martens:
"The roundabout rules are different. The rules changed in Russia. Some people still drive by the old rules, while others abide by the new ones."
Correspondent:
Louise and Eugen's short-term plan is, of course, to get their own farm. They have already chosen the land. They want their own farm. They plan to buy cows, horses, to cultivate the land the way their ancestors did ages ago.
There were 2.5 million Germans in the Russian Empire. And it's curious how history repeats itself, for now, we can observe a trend of Germans wanting to move back to the fertile lands of Stavropol. This desire was expressed by about 27 Russian Germans. And, most likely, the house where the Martens family is staying now will take on new temporary dwellers.