First Person: Life In Russia As A Non-Russian Child

Aida Kasymalieva reports from Moscow for RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service. This summer, she brought her 5-year-old daughter, Bermet, to Moscow from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, where she had been living with her grandparents. This is Kasymalieva’s account of her daughter’s experience of life in Russia.

…On that day we went home and I grabbed Emma — a doll that I had bought in New York City. Emma is an African-American doll, made of cloth, with dark, curly hair, and the same height as Bermet.

And the three of us — Emma, Bermet, and I — took a walk in the Field of Miracles. It was our kind of silent protest in support of tolerance and against xenophobia…

Read the rest of Aida Kasymalieva’s compelling account of her daughter’s experience of life in Russia.