From Russia to the Islands With Love
/It still blows my mind that an “Ivan” from the frozen, windswept, snow-cursed steppes of Russia and a “Teresita” from warm, typhoon-ravaged islands would meet and make a life partner of the other. The question is, why the Russians? Russians and Filipinos getting together seem most unlikely, and even in today’s AI/instant-translation-generated apps, the two cultures would still seem to be cut from different bolts of cloth.
But indulge me as I backtrack with a dusting of nostalgia.
Growing up in Manila in the ‘50s and ‘60s, I recall a festive buffet table would usually include the traditional Filipino/Tagalog dishes—adobo, lechon, nilaga (boiled beef) laing (taro leaf in coconut milk), malagkit (sticky rice); the Spanish-inflected plates—lengua estofado (braised beef tongue), cocido, afritada, ropa vieja (shredded left-over beef or pork); Indonesian—saté babe or BBQ meat; the whole strain of Chinese repertoire—lumpia, pancit, potstickers, siopao (bao); of course, American standbys—fried chicken, hotdogs, even a pseudo-French desert, sans rival--all products of a cosmopolitan, melting-pot Manila-mélange.
The Stray ‘Commie’ Salad
But there was one dish that always struck me as being out-of-place: “Russian salad.” How did that get on the tropical Manila table? From my history class I knew that the Philippines and Russia weren’t even on the same planet. The Russians were the bad guys, bogeymen Bolsheviks who were the scourge of postwar pax Americana that sheltered our islands.
All the other cuisines mentioned above are part of the history of the Philippines, vestiges of invading or neighboring cultures that made their way to the average 20th century Filipino table. But Russian salad? Later, I learned that if it had red beets and potatoes then it qualified as a “Russian salad” (because of its red coloration?).
Lately, with a lot of time on my hands, I have been binge-watching a whole gamut of YouTube offerings. From among the mind-boggling 800 million+ videos on YouTube, I’ve latched on to very unlikely stories of love matches from incongruous cultures, seemingly a very timely topic for Valentine’s Day 2024. The ones that grab my attention are pairings of Filipinos and present-day Russians.
Early Pinoy-Russo Encounter
It seems like we have been down this strange road before. But as unlikely and how far apart Russians and Filipinos are in interacting with each other on a closer basis, it seems that Uncle Vanya and Maria Clara have brushed up against each other earlier than I first imagined.
In the 1890s, at least one Pampanga hacendero (plantation grandee) was known to have entertained Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (uncle to the last czar of Russia, Nicholas II). Then came the Russian Revolution which ended imperial rule and was replaced by an even harsher and more brutal regime.
In the late 1920s, before the Philippines became a US Commonwealth, an ex-Russian ballerina from the czarist days, Madame Luva Adameit, established the Cosmopolitan Ballet & Dance School in Manila, the first professional dance school dedicated to western, specifically Russian-style of ballet. This was way before the Anita Kane, Benny Villanueva, and Alice Reyes Ballet schools opened. Daughters of prominent Manila families were Mme. Adameit’s students, the future choreographers of the budding Philippine dance scene.
Mme. Luva Adameit, the first western-trained ballerina to establish a ballet school in Manila (Source: Facebook)
Little else is known about Mme. Adameit; she presumably came from a leading Russian ballet company of the era (either the Marinsky of St. Petersburg or the Bolshoi of Moscow). She apparently retired in Palestine/Israel after World War II (a whole cache of photographs of her career was recently uncovered there).
In the early days of the postwar Philippine Republic, the Quirino administration facilitated the big 1949-51 lay-over/rescue of White Russians (so-called “White” because of the white tunics worn by the pro-czarist forces who fought the Bolsheviks in a civil war). They had parked themselves temporarily in major Chinese eastern seaboard cities pre-Mao. But with the advance of Mao’s Moscow-aligned forces, they had to evade once more the reach of Soviet Russia. President Quirino offered an escape route for these stateless refugees until they could move on to other countries that could take them in. (“When Russians Came to Tubabao” — Positively Filipino). And then in 1960, on a more confrontational basis, a prominent Philippine senator took Russian premier Nikita Khruschev to task at the United Nations (“The Filipino Who Ticked Off the Big, Bad Russian Bear — Positively Filipino).
Also, in the 1960s of my youth, I remember watching a few Russian films in Manila: an epic, Ilya Morometz, at the Galaxy theater, and occasional films of Bolshoi Ballet performances of Giselle, Swan Lake, and other classics of the Russian repertoire. In 1976, the first Marcos administration finally established diplomatic relations with the then-still Soviet Union, starting a measured flow of trade, visitors and ideas between the two countries.
Now, here we are, some 60-odd years later – and the raison d’etre of that oddly misplaced salade Russe on a Pinoy table, might indeed have come home.
Last year, the Filipino-Russo connection fully bloomed when Russian figure skater Alexander Korovin paired with Fil-Am Isabella Gamez as the first Pairs couple (professionally) in figure skating to compete internationally under the Philippine flag. (“History on Ice” — Positively Filipino).
But perhaps the pairing with the more lasting promise is that of Darlene Bumacod and Boris Kuznetsov.
Contrasting Cultures
The Russians come from a cold, harsh land with an almost warrior-like zeitgeist even today. They descend from a very proud, deeply intellectual culture; and because of their northerly location on the planet, they’re subject to very high rates of depression and dipsomania (i.e., drowning those sorrows in vodka). Also, the Euro-Russians have never been colonized; twice invaded, but never occupied. If anything, the Euro-Russian empire ruled over the largest land mass at one time and still does today despite being formally broken up.
Of course, the Filipinos are completely different. Our islands have been colonized three times. Living in tropical climes, typhoons rather than long, harsh winters wallop us. Our tropical location produces a sunnier, easy-going, even happy-go-lucky disposition even when times are tough. And being an archipelago, Filipinos easily live off both the bounty of the land and the sea.
Perhaps the only commonalities between Russians and the Filipinos: both countries celebrate their respective national days on the same date, June 12th of the current calendar; both are Christian nations even though the Russian Orthodox Church is distinct from the Roman Catholic rite. (Did you know that Russian Orthodox services are held without benches for the congregation? The devotees stay standing up for one to two hours for regular services; it’s 3-4 hours for pre-sunrise high services at Easter!)
Have some common bonds.
The Bumacod-Kuznetsovs are part of a new 21st century social media phenomenon called the “travel vloggers”—individuals with a little audio-visual technical know-how but with pure moxie; simple storytellers at heart -- who want to share their travels and impressions of other nations on YouTube.
Connections on the ‘Net
So, of the countless foreign vloggers experiencing the 21st century Philippines (as old-timers like myself have not), a quick scan of the vlogging landscape brought me these four most interesting cases:
#1 - This Russian family baking, enjoying, and selling Pinoy pastries and dishes from their home in snow-bound Russia. I haven’t yet pinned down the Pinoy connection: HOW MUCH DID WE EARN IN A FILIPINO BAKERY IN RUSSIA? Cooking Afritadang manok and asadong buns!
#2 – the Stepanov family: Our story | How I met my Russian husband | how did they end up in the Philippines
#3 – The Baylosis Squad, Eric and Anna (Rabtsun) Baylosis of Naic, Cavite: Why we choose to live in the Philippines over America; and
#4- the story of Darlene Bumacod and Boris Kuznetsov (posting as IslandLife). It started here: MEETING MY BOYFRIEND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ARMENIA
Of these four, Island Life (Darlene and Boris’ story—D&B) stands out as the most captivating and worthy of my time. Their story enthralled me. Why?
A screenshot of Darlene and Boris
First, their story is told mostly by Darlene Bumacod. Originally from Pangasinan, Darlene knows how to tell a story. She weaves a clean, straight-forward narrative line on a very literate, heartfelt, and informative scale—and she narrates in English (because that’s how she and Boris first communicated), so their story carries a universal appeal.
Darlene’s vlogs are very professionally prepared in a simple way. To keep the viewer on track with their trajectory, she opens each chapter with a quick recap of the previous episode and ends with a preview of what should be the next video.
Second, being the incurable romantic, I was totally swept up in their story. Even while watching their relationship grow—from its early start in Armenia, then on to Krasnodar, Russia (where Boris comes from) in the middle of the unforgiving Russian winter, I could not suppress the strains of Somewhere, My Love (or Lara’s Theme from Dr. Zhivago) from swelling in me, along with a recollection of troikas in the snow, sunflowers of spring in the sun-dappled Russian landscape…the canvas on which one of the greatest love stories of all time, fictional though it may be, unfolds. Ray Conniff & The Singers - Somewhere My Love (Dr. Zhivago 1965) Lyrics
On a Wing and a Prayer
Above all, D&B embarked on their new journey in life with nothing more than a wing and a prayer. The young lovers only had their hope of love and happiness to overcome great barriers of distance—cultural incompatibility, language hurdles, bureaucratic obstacles—to make a go of it. In other words, throwing caution to the wind and taking a chance on love.
Unlike, say, the Baylosis couple (Eric has a spread in Cavite that is a resort and gives his growing family a comfortable, bourgeois Manila lifestyle), D&B have nothing by way of physical assets or properties or “dowries” to start on. If anything, they even had Boris’ 65-year-old mother, Katya, come and try to start a new life in the Philippines as well. Theirs is a story that transcends national borders, races and all pre-ordained concepts of “love at first sight.” Theirs is the purity of true love in its most rarefied state.
• Just look at the authentic, loving, non-judgmental welcome Katya extended on meeting her new, racially different, foreign-born daughter-in-law for the very first time (7:58 mark). You could see Mrs. K’s bounty of spirit in meeting this totally alien woman (but “if this is the woman who will make my son happy, then so will I accept her with no reservations!”) --TRIP TO COLD RUSSIA
• Exploring the Black Sea areas - ROMANTIC TRIP TO BLACK SEA/ RUSSIA VLOG
• Finalizing plans to leave Russia for the Philippines by going to Moscow to secure entry visas for Boris and his mother at the PH Embassy in the Russian capital - LEAVING RUSSIA FOR THE PHILIPPINES, RUNNING FROM WAR/MOSCOW VLOG
• After they arrived in the Philippines, they felt their way around to figure out where to start their new life. This episode perhaps is one of the most touching and heartfelt showing ordinary, proud Russian men adapting to their new married lifestyle and culture - TRADITIONAL WEDDING IN THE PHILIPPINES | RUSSIAN AND FILIPINA LOVE STORY | ISLAND LIFE
From hereon, the reader can find the vlog of Island Life on YouTube and subscribe.
I never figured out the real professions of D&B. I could only guess, at least from Darlene’s literary skills (she reads major novels) that she worked in some field of MassCom or was a teacher in Malaysia when she forsook that and flew to Armenia to meet Boris on pure trust.
Boris, from what I could glean, was some sort of community organizer back in Krasnodar and has been doing some sort of woodworking in their new life in Maco, Davao del Oro where they have chosen to settle. I initially tried to open a private line to Darlene, if only to inquire about their professions, but she never responded, I guess wanting to keep that part of their lives private.
However, I still cheer D&B and their life. Once I felt that I had gotten to know Boris, Darlene, and Mama and their measure as human beings (via a remote medium), I know they are good people, not quite salt of the earth-types but more rose-blossoms-in-the-snow kind. I felt that “spending my time with them” was not a waste of my precious hours.
Evading Putin’s’ Draft
I have a prayer stashed in my back pocket asking that the Almighty protect D&B and Katya because they are just the sort of basic, decent people [who are] worthy stewards of the earth. Of course, while watching these videos and specifically these displaced Russians who come from a great land, a proud and amazing culture, the cynic in me stirred once again.
“D&B embarked on their new journey in life with nothing more than a wing and a prayer. ”
Single, young Russian men of draft age are in danger of ending up as cannon fodders in Russia’s unholy war against Ukraine. It’s a very human reason to forsake Mother Russia for warm, tropical islands far from the dreaded Russian winters, natural and political. D&B have admitted as much in one of their earlier videos.
Lessons Learned from Foreign Vloggers
In the countless hours I have invested in binge-watching these vlogs, I have learned a few life lessons:
Watching through the lenses of Gen Zers and foreigners is like holding up a mirror to one’s face. Thanks to the videos I can now visit places in the old country that I’ve never visited before. My father was from Zambales, but he only took me there twice as a boy (and one trip to Boracay in 2004), and that was the farthest I got doing something “provincial.” These videos have now filled that void taking me places that I never dreamt were so wondrous.
Moreover, I now ask myself, what positive things about the old country do these vloggers see that I haven’t? Why are they so upbeat and joyful about the islands? Of course, it was a different time and generation for me.
On a more technical note, I learned that longer videos allow YouTube to insert more ads, which then accrue to more earning opportunities for the vloggers. It’s not the subscriber numbers, but the number of views that is the more important indicator of success. A high view count means more people are actively engaging, and that's a powerful measure of a vlogger's impact. Also, apparently, if you hit “SKIP” during the commercials, then those do not count for the channel, and the vlogger is denied her earnings. Thus, if you truly want to help your favorite vloggers, then let the ads play out so their channels get credit.
Lately, Boris has been putting out his own videos too, narrating them in Russian; so it’s obviously for the old market back home. Mama Katya had to unexpectedly return to Russia after nearly one year in the Philippines. Will she return?
Keep watching the Island Life vlog of Darlene and watch out as well for Cupid’s arrows that often litter the path to true love. Don’t forget to pack some of that tempting Русский(Russian)-Pinoy salade. С Днем Святого Валентина or Happy Valentine’s Day!
SOURCES:
Luva Adameit – c/o Paquito de la Cruz and Museum Volunteers of the Philippines Meta page
Myles A. Garcia is a Correspondent and regular contributor to www.positivelyfilipino.com. He has written three books:
· Secrets of the Olympic Ceremonies (latest edition, 2021);
· Thirty Years Later . . . Catching Up with the Marcos-Era Crimes (© 2016); and
· Of Adobo, Apple Pie, and Schnitzel With Noodles (© 2018)—all available in paperback from amazon.com (Australia, USA, Canada, UK and Europe).
Myles is also a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, contributing to the ISOH Journal, and pursuing dramatic writing lately. For any enquiries: razor323@gmail.com
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