BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Shortly after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Alla Prigolovkina and her husband, Andrei Ushakov, determined they needed to flee their Sochi, Russia, dwelling.
Ushakov had been detained for holding up an indication that learn “Peace,” and Prigolovkina, a pregnant ski teacher, feared he would quickly be drafted and doubtlessly killed, leaving their child fatherless.
The unique plan was to remain in Europe, however anti-Russian sentiment discouraged them.
“We selected Argentina as a result of it has the whole lot we wanted: Implausible nature, a big nation, stunning mountains,” Prigolovkina, 34, informed The Related Press inside the house her household is renting in Argentina’s western Mendoza province. “We felt it could be supreme for us.”
They have been hardly alone.
Over the previous 12 months, Argentine immigration authorities have seen flights full of dozens of pregnant Russians. However whereas Prigolovkina stated her household intends to construct a life right here on the foot of the Andes mountains, native officers imagine most of the different latest Russian guests are singularly targeted on receiving certainly one of Argentina’s passports.
All kids born in Argentina routinely obtain citizenship and having an Argentine baby hurries up the method for the dad and mom to acquire residency permits and, after a few years, their very own passports.
Crucially, the navy blue booklets permit entry to 171 nations with out a visa, a backup plan that Russians imagine may come in helpful in the ever-uncertain future. As a result of sanctions, Russians have additionally had hassle opening financial institution accounts in international nations, one thing an Argentine passport may resolve.
In response to official figures, some 22,200 Russians entered Argentina during the last 12 months, together with 10,777 girls — lots of whom have been in the superior levels of being pregnant. In January, 4,523 Russians entered Argentina, greater than 4 occasions the 1,037 that arrived in the identical month final 12 months.
After an investigation, Argentine officers concluded that Russian girls, typically from prosperous backgrounds, have been getting into the nation as vacationers with the plan to present beginning, acquire their documentation and depart. Greater than half of the Russians who entered the nation in the final 12 months, 13,134, already left, together with 6,400 girls.
