Why Russian Pregnant Women Flee To Argentina To Giving Birth?

Since last year, it has been very common to see pregnant women or Russian couples with newborns in parks, cafes and, above all, clinics in Buenos Aires. In the midst of the war in Ukraine , Argentina became a favorite destination for young Russian families due to the good level of medical care and the facilities to obtain nationality.

The phenomenon evokes previous waves of migration from Russia to Argentina. Since the end of the 19th century, Russians had arrived escaping from the pogroms; in the 1930s, those fleeing the Great Famine (Holodomor) and, in the late 1990s, those seeking another life after the fall of the former Soviet Union.

This time, the increase in the arrival of pregnant Russian women set off alarms at the Migration Directorate, which first detained six of them for several hours at the airport and then asked the courts to investigate groups that organize their arrival.“It is an avalanche”, said Florencia Carignano, director of Migrations. She assured that up to 14 or 15 pregnant Russian women arrive per flight. According to the official, there have been more than 5,800 in the last 3 months.

Most of them do not speak Spanish; also, almost none had been to Argentina before. They arrive attracted by a“word of mouth” that describes a friendly and peaceful country, where nationality procedures are easy.“90% of women are looking for a better future. There were cases of girls who, when they found out that the baby they were expecting would be a boy, immediately decided to come to Argentina” to avoid being called to war when they grew up.

This was recounted by Elena Shkitenkova, who has been living in this country for more than 20 years and who, as an interpreter, has accompanied several women in labor during her medical processes.“They tell me: I want my son to live, I want peace for my son; I want a better future. I get goosebumps thinking about it”, added this woman.

“The war in Ukraine influenced our decision to move to Argentina, although it was not the only reason. It is true that if we stayed in Russia, my husband would probably have been mobilized”, Elena, 32, a mother of 3 girls who reserved her last name, told AFP. Elena and her family demonstrated last week at the gates of the Casa Rosada, the presidential headquarters, in solidarity with the pregnant women held at the airport. Severina, the youngest of her daughters, was born in May in Buenos Aires.“We want to stay here and integrate. We have our residency process underway”, she stated.

The search for a second nationality is not something new in Russia. This was stated to AFP by one of the first Russians to create accompaniment agencies for women in labor in Argentina, noting that before the preferred destination was the United States.

The“package” to give birth in Buenos Aires can cost around US$15,000, she estimated. According to the Federal Police, certain networks charge up to US$35,000.“If you have some money and you can have your child born outside of Russia, you will do it. Processing Argentine citizenship is easy and the treatment received is much better than with the Russian red passport”, said this man who did not want to give his name.

The Argentine passport allows you to travel as a tourist to 175 countries without a visa, so Carignano calls to“take care” of that document. At the same time, he recalled that recently in Slovenia“they found 3 Russian spies with Argentinean nationality”.

In Argentina, as in most of the countries of the Americas, the“iussolis” governs, which grants nationality to anyone born in its territory. But, also, having an Argentinean child grants residence to the parents and shortens the nationality application process.

At the gates of the Finochietto Sanatorium, the coming and going of Russian families is evident, whether they are women with advanced pregnancies or with newborns in their arms. The doctor Guillermo Capuya, in charge of institutional relations of the sanatorium, pointed out that the arrival in Argentina of Russian parturients“began very slowly” about a year ago.

“We did not envision that it was going to be a phenomenon, but in the last semester it began to grow almost exponentially”. This was such huge to the point that, in last December,out of the 200 births that were attended at the Finochietto, 50 were to Russian mothers. We create a bond of trust. Women are surprised by the humanized care we give them. Some people who do not have resources go to a public hospital, but we noticed that the majority come to private clinics”, he told AFP.

According to the Directorate of Migrations, in the last year, 21,982 people of Russian nationality arrived in Argentina, of which 13,000 are no longer in this country.

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