From Russia with Love

By: Paul Riat, Business News Update

Computer programmer and Web designer Igor Aleshin moved to St. Louis back in 2001 to learn more about his profession and to learn more about America. He quickly missed the Russian culture he grew up in and soon started running into pockets of Russian speaking people in the area – but nothing tied them together. He launched a Web site that grew into a regional concern, one he still maintains even though he's since moved back to St. Petersburg, Russia.

STLRus.com got a new name this January, RussianMidwest.com, to reflect the growing number of visitors from outside the St. Louis area.

"Users are mostly from St. Louis, but we have some friends from Kansas City and Chicago," Aleshin told Business News Update from his St. Petersburg home in an interview conducted using instant messenger. "We are the biggest (Russian language) community site in Missouri and Kansas... Chicago has a number of Russian Web sites."

"Back in the U.S.S.R."
Aleshin and his family moved back to St. Petersburg after his employer, Sonacom, hit the skids last fall. The move set his site back a bit in that he didn't have the time to put up news – something he hopes to start again – but with 600 registered users and "a lot" of unregistered visitors hitting the site for chat rooms and discussion boards he felt he couldn't abandon it. Besides, the site made a few hundred dollars a month back in 2001 and Aleshin says he'd like to make some money with it again. And he'd like to move his family back to St. Louis, they left when his visa expired following his layoff.

"I like the country and the people," he said. "But the law of this country demands to leave it in 10 days after the visa expired — and you know how easy (it is) to find new job in 10 days? We made decision to move back rather than stay illegally."

The site lists Midwestern Russian businesses, has a calendar of Russian and local events and links to member sites. Discussion groups deal with federal, state and local issues including politics, the economy and U.S.-Russian relations. Through the site people organize dance parties, barbecue weekends, concerts, sporting events and intellectual games. In addition to Aleshin five volunteers moderate site discussion groups.

According to the most recent Census data 14,000 St. Louisans claim Russian ancestry. There are also Armenians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians and other communities interested in the site and its contents.