👨🏾‍🦳🇧🇯🇷🇺 People call him ’Russian Obama’, though he has more in common with Morgan Freeman as in ’The Shawshank Redemption’ story...

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Meet Jean Gregoire Sagbo from Benin Republic, a foreigner in Russia and the first black deputy here! 😱

🇷🇺 Jean Gregoire is 64, he’s spent most of his life in Tver region with his Russian wife Svetlana and their son. Their story is so outstanding that it is worthy of a movie script! Jean Gregoire was a student in Russia when he met Svetlana. Despite the notorious ’friendship of peoples’ in the USSR, this couple had tough times. Svetlana openly tells about the racism 😱 which Jean Gregoire faced in the Soviet Union. Svetlana herself was severely persecuted for being in an interracial relationship: her parents were members of the Communist Party and opposed such a union. To make matters worse, Svetlana was expelled from the university, just because of her relationship with Jean Gregoire! 😢

🇧🇯 Then, with a baby in their arms already, they left for troubled Benin, where Jean Gregoire was suddenly accused of participating in the planning of a coup! 😱 He spent 2 years in prison, in shackles ⛓️ and was tortured in a bid to extract a confession from him. His wife and their child spent six months in Africa, without knowing the language, and later returned to the USSR. Eventually, Jean Gregoire managed to escape prison 🔥 and for the next 20 years, he lived in Russia. He couldn’t return to Benin to see his family as he was considered to a traitor. He was only able to visit his homeland after the change of power in the Benin Republic.

💼 Jean Gregoire started a business in Russia in the 90s, a small shoe store. However, his social activities and desire to help people got him into politics. The residents of the village where he lived motivated him to announce his candidacy to vie for a local legislator seat. This is how an African expat in Russia Jean Gregoire Sagbo became a deputy!

What was life like for a black guy back in Russia, in the 90s and 2000s? What were the most surprising stereotypes about Russia and Africa? How did Jean Gregoire manage to escape from the Benin Republic prison? Why did he decide to pursue a political career, and what has he benefited from it? Watch our new video to find out! 🎥

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00:00 Meet Jean Gregoire Sagbo
01:28 Being a deputy
02:52 How did he end up in the USSR?
03:24 The most surprising thing about the USSR
04:06 Charity & helping the poor
04:52 Russian wife Svetlana
05:47 There WAS racism in the USSR!
07:44 What is it like to live in Benin?
08:18 Imprisoned for a coup charge
09:50 Jean’s business: a shoe store
10:23 The escape from the prison
12:05 The 90-s for an African in Russia be like
14:34 The most surprising questions about Africa
15:07 Visiting the local museum
15:08 ’Russian Obama’: politician & fighter for justice
19:30 Why not Moscow?
20:20 Life after politics