As Dmitrii Tur waited last year to be assigned a date to cross the Mexican border, through an online appointment system called CBP One, he ran out of savings.
Fortunately, he found a shelter in Tijuana for LGBTQ refugees who had fled Russia and he was able to enter the U.S. safely.
But after he moved to Los Angeles in February 2023 with his boyfriend Maksim, Tur faced an array of problems as he looked for a job, housing and health insurance — while navigating a complex legalization process.
Amid those challenges, not once did Tur regret his decision to flee Moscow — especially after Russia’s Supreme Court called LGBTQ activists “extremists,” a move that human rights groups said would lead to widespread arrests and prosecutions of gay and trans individuals.
Tur considers himself lucky. Thanks to LGBTQ organizations including Access to Prevention Advocacy Intervention & Treatment, or APAIT, which assists LGBTQ immigrants and refugees, Tur found a shelter for gay and trans refugees and later an apartment in Northridge in the San Fernando Valley, which he now shares with Maksim.
“Everything turned out much better than I expected,” he said. “I never thought I would receive so much support and help.”
Russian LGBTQ refugee Dmitrii Tur, who poses on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 in Northridge, has been looking out for the Russian LGBTQ community since leaving Russia last year. He co-founded Ours in the USA to assist newly arrived Russian LGBTQ refugees. On Sunday he will march in WeHo Pride with his newly formed group. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
More than a year after his move, Tur wants to give back to his community. With five of his friends — all Russian refugees who arrived in California in the last two years — Tur is forming a nonprofit to help Russian-speaking LGBTQ immigrants fleeing violence in their home country.
The nonprofit, called Ours in the USA, hopes to support LGBTQ asylum-seekers from former Soviet republics.
“I’m ready to share my experience with others,” Tur said. “Many people arrive with limited English proficiency, no money or knowledge of the local immigration system.”
The nonprofit group is already working on its first event. On Sunday, June 2, more than 70 Russian-speaking members of Ours in the USA will march in the WeHo Pride parade. Some hope to hold signs saying, “I’m a Russian gay” and “It’s my first Pride.”
Danila Veliuk, a group co-founder who moved to Los Angeles from St. Petersburg about a year ago, said that on Sunday he will join a pride parade for the first time.
“It was impossible to have a pride parade in Russia,” Veliuk said. “For the first time, we can openly march in the society that accepts us and respects our voices.”
Russia has been toughening up its anti-gay laws for years.
In November, Russia’s Supreme Court called the “international LGBTQ public movement” extremist. Months later, a judge in the southern region of Volgograd found a man guilty after he posted an LGBTQ flag on his social media page. A woman in Nizhny Novgorod was sentenced to five days in jail after wearing frog-shaped earrings with a rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBTQ movement banned by the Russian Supreme Court.
Kirill Surnachev, another co-founder of Ours in the USA, said he was devastated when he found out about a gay Russian man who recently committed suicide in Los Angeles.
“It’s hard to make social connections in a new country, and we want to make sure people have all kinds of support when they move here,” Surnachev said, speaking in Russian. “We are trying to find out how to help people so they don’t feel lonely.”
More than 57,160 Russians arrived in the United States last year, according to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Nearly 150 Russian LGBTQ refugees have arrived in Southern California since 2022, according to Surnachev who is in touch with them via a Telegram group Ours in the USA which lists 1,410 subscribers.
About 50 Russians are currently waiting in Mexico to cross the border, Surnachev said.
Members of Ours in the USA plan to help immigrants find Russian-speaking therapists, and provide tips on navigating a complex immigration system, and other assistance.
Surnachev said their approach is about trial and error. “We try something, it works out, and we share the experience with others in the group,” he said. “We try something again and it doesn’t work out, we share the experience with others.”
Many new arrivals need medical and mental health care due to their stress from prosecution, discrimination and separation from their families.
“I haven’t seen one (Russian-speaking LGBTQ refugee) without mental health problems,” Tur said. “Many of them are traumatized. And they’re not a lot of Russian-speaking therapists to help them.”
As refugees wait to find a shelter in Los Angeles, Tur said, some end up sleeping in cars, at the airport or on the streets.
“There’s always someone sleeping on a couch in my living room,” Tur said, laughing for a moment. “We are trying to find them a shelter but there’s a shortage of shelters and it’s not easy to get a space there.”
Related links
Many Russian immigrants in Southern California believe propaganda that Nazis thrive in Ukraine
Second anniversary of Ukraine invasion: Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox church welcomes all
In Southern California, Ukrainian, Russian expats react as invasion unfolds
