For Russians looking to have fun or secure their assets, the tiny kingdom is still a place where you can party like it’s 2021.
“The very rich Russians never had problems” in France, said Hélène Metlov, president of La Maison de la Russie à Nice, a French-Russian cultural NGO in Nice. Soon after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the number of Russians in the French Riviera swelled, with refugees fleeing to neighborhoods in Cannes or Nice which still have Russian-named streets, orthodox churches and buildings.
However, the middle-class Russians living in the area for decades “faced all the obstacles of usual immigrants when it comes to renewing their residence permit.”
From his office in Villefranche-sur-Mer, Russia’s Consul General Sergei Galaktionov says this problem has increased his workload in the past two years.
“Russia’s helped poor people there, paid for the region’s railways and invested a lot in the economy,” said Galaktionov, sometimes reading from notes prepared by his boss, Russian ambassador to France Aleksey Meshkov.
Galaktionov holds court with passing police officers as he wanders the streets, pointing out ties his country has with the region, including statues of famous Russian admirals. Police officers greet him with big smiles and a respectful “Monsieur le consul” as he wanders around the nearby Fort du Mont Alban.
It was in that fort that Galaktionov planned to organize a cocktail party on Russia’s national day in June, he said. (Kevin Thuilliez, head of communications for Villefranche-sur-Mer, said the local authorities were not involved in any such party, as the organizer found a private partner to help host the event.)
“Despite political crises, Russians have remained faithful to France and the region.”