Recently I saw this front page post about what it feels like to teach in the United Kingdom.
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I recently travelled to Yakutsk, Russia, world's coldest city to study Medicine here at Ammosov North Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia, for a degree of 'Doctor of Medicine. M.D (yes they don't award MBBS here but MD.)
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As a part time job, I teach English here in Yakutsk and it is a job where demand for native speakers like Africans is very very high. Russians don't speak English but they continue to look for English teachers which makes it a good destination for English speaking Africans like us.
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Teaching here in Russia is completely different from what I read in that post about teaching in the United Kingdom and in this thread, I will tell you everything about it.
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Let me quickly note that, Russians are totally different from what we always read about them. I am a pro western person because my dad studied for his degrees in the USA. I grew up loving the West. I still love them.
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But Russians are no monster. There is nothing like Racism here. These people love blacks toooo much! From Moscow to Krasnoyarsk to Yakutsk even while I was the only black man at the entire airports, the attention and love and help everyone offered was amazing!

Russians seem to have this welcoming attitude. It was hard for me to believe they were the same people I used to think, were 'hard' and 'unfriendly' lots of pictures, selfies, there were even these Russian guys that paid $500 for me to have 30 minutes of massage in a massage chair, they bought all sort of foods and even expensive alcohols for me...too bad, I don't take alcohol though.
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Having said these things, I plead with us not to turn this thread into a Russia vs USA thread.
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So, after I obtained my Visa letter, I approached the Russian embassy, did all my authorization and legalization of documents including the ones I have to do at the ministries of education and foreign affairs. I got my Visa for 119k and everything was over within a week.
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My flight to Abuja was on overland air. It was my first flight. People castigate this airline alot but trust me, they have the best safety records in this country and they are extremely cheap. They have been operating for a long time too and the pilots are extremely experienced. And I love the sound of those props!
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My flight back to Ilorin after obtaining my Visa was also on Overland air. I enjoyed every bit of the experience. I booked my flight to Moscow one month ahead and paid only 268k. I will attach evidence if possible.

Let me also mention that I took off to Moscow from Lagos. My flight to Lagos was on Overland air again. I booked the flight the same morning I left Ilorin...because it was the at the peak of the dollar crisis. Till the very last day in Ilorin, I was still looking for Abokis to buy dollars from.

You must have figured out already that I love overland air.
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My flight to Moscow was to have a stop over in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. On the six hours flight to Ethiopia, Ethiopian air served us three course meals and each meal came with a bottle of wine!
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They also served us a three course meal on the trip from Addis Ababa to Moscow, also with wine. From fish to chicken to snacks to rice... That airline is awesome!! I am quiet happy that we have something like that in Africa.
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Ethiopian air hostess are very nice and extremely beautiful. You would be amazed that they are Africans. I met these little kids travelling with their dad to the UK on the flight and they sure made my experience all fun. They never stopped asking questions... �
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I was sad for Nigeria when we arrived Ethiopia. It was at night but the so many skyscrapers, the well lighted cities and the hundreds of Ethiopian air jumbo jets at the airport...that country is way ahead.
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The treatment Ethiopian air gave us at their waiting lounge in Addis Ababa was awesome
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On the flight from Ethiopia to Moscow, I was the only black guy on board. This was were my Russian language that I had started learning online before leaving Nigeria started to kick in. Ethiopian air hostess could not communicate with some Russians on board and I was able to do some little translations.
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I noticed our flight was not directly to Moscow. It was diverted through Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and then to Moscow, perhaps to avoid the Ukraine war zone Cux from the inflight map, flying directly to Moscow will entail passing through the Ukrainian airspace.
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It was a smooth night flight.
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From Domodedovo airport in Moscow, I travelled by taxi to Vnukovo airport. It cost about 33k naira equivalent of the rubles.
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Russia is extremely DEVELOPED! Many European cities can't compare to what I saw in Moscow.
I used to think Russia is a country that is all focused on making war machines...it is not true. The infrastructures, the houses, the environment...it was like a dream!

From Vnukovo airport, I took another flight to Krasnoyarsk City. And at Krasnoyarsk, I was beginning to feel the extreme cold of Russia
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From Krasnoyarsk, I took another flight to Yakutsk. And it's a white city filled with thick snows. Average daily temperature at this time is minus 40 degrees Celsius and can sometimes deep to minus 60.
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University representatives were already waiting for me at Yakutsk airport and they even came with a hot pot of coffee (remember I told you about Russians being extremely nice to foreigners)
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Now to the pictures. But let me quickly add these points
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1. Russia have a very serious drug law. If your plan is to snuggle drugs across the continent please don't come to Russia!!
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2. Police here are extremely nice. No one harassed me at the airport, no unnecessary checks. I was never asked to strip, they don't assault your dignity. But when passing through checking machines you have to remove thick clothings like sweaters and coats and gloves too.
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3. Interestingly, some common items like more than 100ml of aerosols or perfumes are not allowed to go with you into the plane (carry on bag) while some things you would think are normal are contrabands in Russia. I had two bottle of perfumes clearly labelled but before I go through each checks, I remove them and declare them to the officers in charge of the checks. They would look at it and asked me to out it into my tray and slide it into the checking machine. Whenever you are travelling abroad maybe not even Russia, if there is any item you are not sure of it's legibility to enter that country or plane, always remove it from your luggage and declare it to the officers before you are checked. This way, if the item is a contraband, they would be sure you are not trying to smuggle it in.
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4. I really wish Nigerian policing system can be like that of Russia. No road blocks, no harassment, they are glad to help. If a police officer finds you shivering outside they may invite you to have hot coffee and warm up in their car!
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5. THERE IS NO WAR IN RUSSIA!
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6. CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINIONS, RUSSIANS LOVE THE AMERICANS! Yes many Russians want to go to America. Sometimes they even assume all of us blacks are from America and they treat us with love and respect.
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7. Russians are probably the only white race in the world that do not hate black people.
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8. I know foreigners are being watched but trust me, you are being watched in Nigeria more than in Russia. Contrary to popular opinion, president Vladimir Putin does not 'hunt down' his perceived enemies. People have freedom here but at least 90% of Russians I have met, love him.
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9. President Vladimir Putin is very friendly to Africans. Russian immigration laws makes it easy for Africans to come study in Russia and when you are here, they don't harass nor bully you and they don't treat you like second class citizens.
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10. And finally...language is a big barrier in Russia..but their police and immigrations are very friendly.
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Now to the pictures. (I had to source some pictures from the internet)
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The first pictures are
Ilorin International airport.
Abuja International airport and
Lagos international airport.
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I saw shege at Lagos airport where I took off to Moscow. Bribes upon bribes. Nigeria is ruined honestly...everyone kept begging for money. Money that I obtained at an extremely high rate.
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I also had to deposit 400k naira with Ethiopian air before they could let me board Cux I had no return ticket. They refunded the money to me three days after successfully crossing into the Russian Federation.
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In Ethiopia and Russia, nothing like bribery. That is why it felt so weird when the officers are helping you with everything without asking for a Kobo and you can't help it but to keep thanking them.
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Below is Domodedovo airport in Moscow, my University and a picture of Yakutsk. The city where I am studying.

Vnukovo (Also in Moscow few kilometers from Ukraine, I think)airport and my Russian Visa
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First visa is my entry Visa while the second one is the residency visa obtained for me by the university.
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The tuition fee for my university for medicine is about $1000 per semester.

Krasnoyarsk Airport. From Vnukovo in Moscow I went to Krasnoyarsk. By the way, Moscow to Yakutsk my final destination is much farther apart than Nigeria to Moscow. Russian air hostesses are extremely nice. I boarded UTair so they have English speaking hostesses. However inflight meal was not included in my ticket. But guess what?
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A Russian soldier returning home with his thick muscles and deadly looks that I had been thinking to be a mean killer kind of person, gently told the air hostess to serve me every food they served other people and he paid for it with his card!!
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I was the only black guy on the flight.

More pictures of Yakutsk, the coldest city in the world and my university. The last picture is the Yakutsk airport where university representatives came to receive me.

By the way this city has an ice cave that stays frozen all year round! The ice never melt.

Now remember I talked** about teaching in Russia. These pictures speaks louder than texts. The kids are super friendly. You are not allowed to beat them nor have any form of communications with them outside the school except for teenagers that are taking online lessons and extra lessons from you.
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But the kids are extremely friendly.
But they can kill you with lots of questions about Africa. A kid once asked me in Russian
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"I am very sorry for this question teacher but is it true that Africans developed from Monkeys?"
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While I was thinking of a good answer, he cuts in
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"Oh no teacher, you don't have to answer, I am sorry for asking such a rude question"
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You can't allow them harm themselves so you can interfere if something bad is going to happen.
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Teenagers or adults learning English with you are allowed to call you, essentially, just treat the kids and everyone else in Russia within the framework of the Russian laws. I mean, you can't hit nor beat the kids...but you can't hit nor beat anyone in the street either.
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Just exactly as no one is allowed to hit nor beat you.
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The kids are well mannered and cultured and I think this is because Russians have very good cultures especially when it comes to raising kids.
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You should also know that these kids are allowed to use sophisticated phones even from age 2!
They have iphone 13s and the best smartphones.
They like to take pictures of you and you should not take offence with this. They will snap you even when you are not looking. They will show it to their friends and brag about it that they have a black teacher!
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You cannot take these phones from them but you can ask them to put it away. You might ask "what if they refuse to put it away"
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Well honestly, I have never asked a kid to put their phones away and they refused. I am sure the head teacher or administrators have the power to take the phones from them but they have never disobeyed me.
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Russian kids are well mannered if you don't 'devalue' yourself. They will only, always be proud of you.

So for a kid or even an adult to directly insult you here is almost impossible.
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I also noticed that whenever the kids are going home, some of them would thank you for teaching them. It's weird cuz you are obviously getting paid for it...but it goes a long mile to show how cultured they are.
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In general...coming here is fulfilling. I can't even begin to compare Russia to Nigeria. The difference is huge. Russians manufactures the AK-47 and most of our guns but honestly I have never seen an AK-47 here. I think I have never seen a gun either. The health services is awesome.
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Police response is great.
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If you like go out in the middle of the midnight u have no problem. No one will harass you, and no one will kidnap you. Just don't break the law because there are cameras everywhere. For instance even when no single vehicle is passing, don't jump street lights.wait for the green light before you cross...no carry naija spirit enter here.

Oh I almost forgot. This is a picture of my flight ticket I talked about. About 268k it doesn't seem clear. .but u can still see the total of u zoom out.
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I have to also say that despite the farther distance between Moscow and Yakutsk. Air fares are so cheap in Russia that it cost me far less to get to Yakutsk from Moscow compared to what it cost me to get to Moscow from Lagos.

Let me leave you with these pictures of myself, my classmates with our language lecturer and me with my friends here in Yakutsk.
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Despite being a federal university, we are only about 15 in a class. And they don't attempt to burden us with lectures. Itx the same way when you are teaching Russian kids. If a kid does not want to learn, it's fine. You don't have to force them.
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Thanks for reading.

Well articulated, enjoy your sojourn bro

Nice!

Please let me also add that Russian student Visa is not equivalent to a work Visa. You can only work for limited hours per week. However it turned out the university is cheap (Federal University) and if you can speak and teach English, employers will be willing to pay you well)
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MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA TOO AND MAKE US A GREAT NATION
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If you ask me to summarize Russia in one phrase. I'd say
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LOVING COUNTRY

Russia becoming the only white that loves black is a lie.

Montenegro sees blacks as unicorn.

There are no blacks in montenegro so when they see us, they begin to wonder where these exotic looking creatures get washed up from cos most of them only see us on tv's

mushroomFarm:
Please let me also add that Russian student Visa is not equivalent to a work Visa. You can only work for limited hours per week. However it turned out the university is cheap (Federal University) and if you can speak and teach English, employers will be willing to pay you well)
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MAY GOD BLESS NIGERIA TOO AND MAKE US A GREAT NATION
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If you ask me to summarize Russia in one phrase. I'd say
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LOVING COUNTRY

Please how much can a student earn per month.. like average?

interesting

Valentineboy1:


Please how much can a student earn per month.. like average?

Somewhere between $500 to $1,000

wow this your Russia review is very nice, but there is something nice about black guys with Afro hair going to a white country, that your Afro hair is your magic charm. don't barbe it

Akwukalia:
The West through their media has always painted Russia like a monster, this is about the 3rd thread I am reading on Nairaland from Nigerians in Russia on how Russians are a lovely people, they don't hate blacks. I learnt something from a nairalander @vibrant99, he said "Never go to where everybody is going". Nigerians has being wired to think that japa must be to either the US, UK, Canada or Australia, but they're people in other less traveled countries leaving good life & doing great things.
Enjoy your sojourn bro, abeg keep updating the thread with pictures

UK, US, canads has a vibrant economy where language will not be a barrier.
France has language problem, Brazil also has it, croatia has it, Ukraine and Russia economy is not strong for entreprenuers.

mushroomFarm:
Oh I almost forgot. This is a picture of my flight ticket I talked about. About 268k it doesn't seem clear. .but u can still see the total of u zoom out.
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I have to also say that despite the farther distance between Moscow and Yakutsk. Air fares are so cheap in Russia that it cost me far less to get to Yakutsk from Moscow compared to what it cost me to get to Moscow from Lagos.

wow, travel section is the best.
Thank u OP, there is a question disturbing me and please do not laugh at my ignorance.

If a Nigerian wants to travel to another country like Russia in this case, how do i change to the foreign currency so i could use it abroad?
Or will my naija dollar account work elsewhere apart from Nigeria?

can you work full time during holidays

mushroomFarm:
Below is Domodedovo airport in Moscow, my University and a picture of Yakutsk. The city where I am studying.

So, how much will it cost to go study in Russia

Ok.

I need to get my transcript first.

No offense Op
It seems you just traveled to russia and you already conclude there is no racism in the country.
Not doubting you tho but but

Oh my! Nigerians are just the best! I see guys already asking how much they can earn, how much it would cost to study there etc.

The day Nigeria's leadership problems become addressed, I am sure Nigeria will effectively compete with the 1st World countries in 25 years!

Braveboi1:
wow this your Russia review is very nice, but there is something nice about black guys with Afro hair going to a white country, that your Afro hair is your magic charm. don't barbe it

Thanks man! I think a white guy told me this too oo

This is definitely one of the most inspiring and visually appealing post I have read so far. A song writer noted that ‘the media pushes death and they do it very well’

Wishing you a highly successful Study time in Russia. Looking forward to moving to Europe pretty soon by God’s grace!

Spanishmilf:
No offense Op
It seems you just traveled to russia and you already conclude there is no racism in the country.
Not doubting you tho but but

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I travelled through different Russian cities. To be honest Racism is everywhere. I am certain it is here too but it must be so low and negligible that I have not experienced it.
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Take a look at how we bash each other on Nairaland. Tribalism is also a form of racism.

Nnaemiemax:
This is definitely one of the most inspiring and visually appealing post I have read so far. A song writer noted that ‘[i]the media pushes death, and they do it very wel[/i]l’

Wishing you a highly successful Study time in Russia. Looking forward to moving abroad someday by God’s grace �

Thanks alot!