Time to read: 8 minutes(s)

Deported from Russia, Sara Krivanek on the anniversary of her liberation From a Ryazan prison colony – about returning to the US, the Russian gestalt, and the search for a "literary ghostwriter"

A sudden interest in Russia and a move – teaching English here – Covid and lack of money – forced relocation to a communal apartment with alcoholic neighbors – beatings from her partner Mikhail Karavaev – a criminal case for excessive self-defense [Sarah stabbed him in the nose with a knife, causing a scratch] – a penal colony in the Skopinsky district Ryazan region. This is summary The story of American Sarah Krivanek, who once fell in love with Russia and moved to the Moscow region to explore it better. The details of her life in Russia are known to few, but footage of the arrest At the airport, while attempting to fly to the United States, the story was splashed across all television and print media. When Sarah was charged with injuring her partner, she contacted the American embassy asking for help. They advised her to leave and gave her money for a ticket. It turned out to be a mistake: she was immediately arrested. The court sentenced the American citizen to one year and three months in prison. She was released from prison on November 7, and only a month later was she released. deported to her homeland - almost on the same day as another US citizen basketball player Brittney Greiner, which was exchanged for an arms dealer Viktor BoutSarah told NeMoskva why she's forced to live in Colorado, why she goes to the library once a week, what she dislikes about the States, and why she plans to return to Russia.

About the "medical mecca"

"When I returned, I stayed with a friend who was waiting for me and meeting me, then I flew off to be with my children. I lived with them for about seven months, but we—how do they say in Russian—didn't get along. They're young, [noisy], sometimes they do stupid things, and I'm against it; I need treatment [after my time in prison]."

I now live in Colorado—it's a medical mecca, but I'll have to undergo treatment for a long time, another two years. My back and neck hurt, as do my kidneys, and I still have pain from a broken arm. When I was working at a kindergarten [in Russia], I slipped on the playground and broke my arm. The fracture prevented me from working. Then Misha beat me, then prison, from which they wouldn't let me get treatment. My spine requires long-term therapy, and my arm will be operated on after the New Year holidays. The doctor said they need to break it again and then put it back together. I'll lose some mobility, but it will work better and be stronger. I need a strong arm. Because of all this, I'm not working yet because I go to the doctor two or three times a week. I'm constantly seeing doctors. I have health insurance for those who can't pay out of pocket, for those who are poor. Every state has this kind of insurance, but in some places it's bad [they don't cover all medical procedures], for example, in California. And the best one is here in Colorado Springs.  

In photo: Returning home (People)

About endless drinking and hopelessness

— About prison... I don't dream about it, but I don't forget it. I don't forget the good people who helped me [delivering packages], and the bad ones who were there. But I think my government could have helped me more than it did. It could have saved me, but it turned out that they locked me up. I think at first they wanted to exchange me for someone, but then they detained Brittney Griner, and my government started preparing to exchange her. I realized even then that I had become a victim.

In the photo: Mikhail Karavaev (screenshot from a REN TV report)

When I was still sitting [in the Temporary Residence Center for Foreign Citizens (TSVIG)] for another month, I called Misha. I wanted to find out about my true friend and pet cat, Drago. He said he'd given him to his neighbor, Galina, and she gave him to her cousins ​​in the village. I bought him when he was eight weeks old, just a kitten. I came to Russia with him. Now the cat is 10 years old, and I don't know if he's alive. Because this Galina is an alcoholic, she drinks constantly and doesn't want to talk to me. In February, she said he was alive. And now, after my time in prison, she doesn't want to talk to me. I have friends in Mytishchi who could take him. I gave them Galina's phone number, but she's not answering. So, there was a plan to save the cat, but so far nothing has worked out.

I still think about how I could have ended up in such company [in a communal apartment next door to an alcoholic and neighbors who were alcoholics], and I still understand that I had no choice. When I rented the apartment, everything was fine and even better: I fixed everything, did some minor renovations, bought furniture. And then the landlord told me to move out in five days. What else could I do—with a cat, furniture, things, and no money, because there was COVID, I wasn't working. I thought I'd quickly find a job and earn enough for a decent place to live, but everything snowballed. When Misha wasn't drinking, he was nice and kind, but when he was drinking, he beat me. He's nice, but weak. I saw that everyone in that communal apartment was drinking. Then I went to the American embassy and told them everything, and they said, "That's it, come over." I trusted them. And they арестовали []. I should have stayed at home for a while longer, but I couldn't: Misha was drinking and hitting again, drinking and hitting. It's hard.

Pictured: Drago the cat (from Sarah's personal VK page)

About pensions and the future book

— Now the plans are as follows: for health reasons, to receive it earlier retirement [due to disability]. The doctor wrote everything down for me, I submitted the documents, but here they can take a long time to process, even a year. Previously, I was given a pension for two years, but I cured these illnesses. Now I'm completely disabled.

The second goal: to write a book about a Russian prison. How we argued, what the head prisoner, Ksyusha "Darth Vader" [the barracks leader], was like. I told her: you're Darth Vader, so evil. She served five years for embezzlement. But there were good girls, too. People don't understand what they do in prison, especially in a Russian one. They'll be interested. I'm looking for someone who can write. They'll interview me, write, and I'll pay. I'm a bad writer, let him write. We'll be partners.

In this photo: Sara Krivanek is taken to court to discuss her 30-day detention in the Central Violation Penitentiary after her release from a penal colony (Reuters)

About LGBTQ sin and Orthodoxy

I haven't been here for almost six years, and a lot has changed. There are a lot of LGBTQ people here, and I need to accept them all. We [believers] say it's a sin, but they say it's good. People also start fights over little things, and I don't like that, so I rarely go out. I met the people I'm staying with at a church service. They said, "Come stay with us until you sort out your health issues." My circle of friends are Catholics; they're almost like Orthodox Christians, they're Orthodox, so I feel good with them.  

For now, I do a little translating. There are a few Russians here in Colorado, and sometimes they need a translator—at school, at the doctor's, in court. It's not a job, it's a very small part-time job for $20 an hour [a little over 1800 rubles]. Sometimes it's $20, sometimes it's over $40. Just so I don't have to slack off. There's also a Russian club at the library; we get together there once a week and communicate in Russian. We've become friends there. I used to be an accountant, but I'm not interested in that. Sitting in a chair, just dealing with numbers—brrr! And now, with my bad back and sore arm, I can't do it. I like teaching children.

About an important date and the Terminator

— I would like to go back to Russia... don't laugh, — for the cat. I don't know if I would want to live there or not. I really liked it when I worked in a camp in the Kaluga region. The nature is beautiful. It would be nice to buy a dacha there and come in the summer, but only in the summer! The camp director said that when the deportation ends, I can come there. They told me that the deportation is for three years. Oh! Today is a year since my release! Almost a year of deportation has passed, two more to go. And yet... I guess I would like to come back after the deportation and say: "I'll be back!" I can still see that picture at the airport: "Sarah, are you back?" And I'm like: "Yes, three years have passed! I will not cut anyone anymore" [laughs]. Even then, they told me that I didn't "cut" him, but accidentally scratched him. But it turned out like "American Sarah cuts a Russian", and he is 190 cm tall. Just an American action movie. And since it's an action movie, let it be like Terminator - I'll be back!

Pictured: Sara Krivanek during her trial (Reuters)