Russian immigrants in the U.S. seems to be escaping the downturn as they continue to party into the night with vodka and caviar while the world's richest are having to alter their lifestyles.
The American economy may be in shambles, but there is one group of people that doesn’t seem too concerned. Instead, they offer some hints to survival because they've already been through much worse, and therefore their habits are unlikely to change.
“Russians don’t believe in miracles, they believe in reality. And reality is that we don’t believe in Bernie Madoff, we invest in ourselves. Russians party regardless of what’s happening outside this world,” explains immigrant Alex Skulsky.
Maybe the ‘outside world’ plagued with home foreclosures and a sinking stock market could take a few hints from these folks.
It’s easy: say 'no' to get-rich-quick schemes, 'no' to huge mortgages, 'no' to stretching credit lines.
Maria Vulfin, who came to America from the Soviet Union twenty years ago and now owns her own medical practice, remembers very well those times when she had nothing
“I believe it’s nothing new for us, because when we first came here, we had to start all over again, from scratch. I believe that it’s in us, in Russians, that we’re going to survive and everything is going to be alright.” Vulfin said.
Computer Programmer Olga Teterya, who originally came to the US from the former Soviet Union, says “I understand there’s an economic crisis here, but it’s not going to change our eating habits. We originally came from the former Soviet Union, and we saw times worse than this time, and we know how to cut corners and how to live our lives despite the economic crisis here.”