Russia's first black elected official commands respect

Jean Gregoire Sagbo, Russia's first black elected official, has turned ignorance and mistrust of Africans into admiration in the rural town of Novozavidovsky where the Benin native is a council member.

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LET'S CONNECT:

[gustafa]

I was treated much better in Russia than I was in America.

[doointhedoo]

I'm half African American. I spent nearly a month in Moscow. Not only were the people extremely nice to me, I didn't feel any discrimination or scrutiny based on my skin color. They looked at me as just another individual and were frequently friendly. When I got on the subway and sat next to older Caucasian people no one grabbed their purses, got up to sit next to someone else, or didn't go out of their way to make sure I was served last at in a restaurant and other retail establishments. These are the things I experience frequently in the USA and it just rolls off of my shoulders. I did not realize how racist the USA was until I left and returned. The subtle racism that I was oblivious to before I left the USA was air apparent when I returned. It's a shame that the leading country of the free world is still one of the most racist countries in the world and that reality is arguably one of the great paradoxes of our time.

[Pythoner]

He's not the first black Russian official. We had one in the 18th century, from Ethiopia. The first elected one maybe.

[Lionella]

You understand, Russian for us is not a nationality, it is belonging to Russia. No matter what color a person is, what gods he prays to, Jean is Russian, he is our man.

[brahim]

On top of being a good and honest politician he has a smile that is priceless.

[EmericaNobles]

As an African American who has travelled to Russia and other former soviet union countries. I get treated Infinitely better in those places than in America..

[nyeeezy]

Interesting..
Its not often you hear o see stuff like this about russia its usually negative.. Its good to see a black man enjoying himself in russia.. And that he is appriciated

[yuhhh]

He's one of the nicest politicians I've ever seen, .

[RUTHLESSambition]

My gf was russian. We visited st petersburg and I didn't want to leave.. These people are just normal.. 0 racism. Not even a whiff. Crazy

[ewardprince]

The great Paul Robeson stated, the first time he felt like a human being when he visited Russia 🇷🇺

[DStalth]

Heard about this many years ago. It's so annoying how the media portrays certain countries and their cultures as it can damage your perspective. I was ignorant myself and had unsubstantiated prejudices towards Russia until my friends came back from their during the world cup. I couldn't get them to shut up about how much of a great time they had over there and now they want to go back for a normal holiday... I will definitely be joining them!

[zlorulit]

I understand that this is a very old video, but I still can't keep The first black politician in Russia. Ahahaha, I've never seen so many lies contained in one true phrase. It sounds something like this: "There is discrimination in Russia, and therefore blacks are never elected to leadership positions." In fact, blacks make up less than 1% of the population of the Russian Federation, and it is not surprising that they are not elected, there are simply very few of them here. This is explained very simply: the Russian Empire did not colonize African countries and did not import slaves from there, our own population played the role of slaves. After 1917, universal equality, both national and gender, was generally proclaimed and promoted in every possible way. You can talk a lot about the USSR, but I grew up in a Soviet family, my father is a military man, and my mother is a teacher, quite an average family by all standards. And I can say that any racist statement in my family would cause confusion and anger, perhaps they would have kicked my ears)))) But it would never have occurred to me to say something like that, because, besides my parents, I have heard about equality in kindergarten, school, on television. Another thing is that after the collapse of the USSR, the whole policy of equality and fraternity stopped and many people slipped into nationalism, racist groups appeared, the government is fighting them, but not as effectively as we would like. Personally, I can say for myself that I remember what my parents taught me, and I teach my children the same, and I am not alone in this.

[brucebakir]

Planning my trip to Russia!!! After hearing Soo much good things I have to go! America lies Soo much about other countries it makes people fearful to travel. Not anymore!

[antoniowillz]

The reason why we rate the Russian Ppl and highly respected them is because them never come to Africa and killed rape and rob Africa resources and take Africans and slaves them so for such high quality of dignity and integrity for humanity we salute Russia and the Russian Ppl 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[egor.kuznetsov]

Us Russians are very curious people and we like meeting new people and exploring new cultures, come anytime, you’re all welcome no matter where you’re from

[sdlglfc]

Damn, as a Russian, I've barely seen any black people that speak Russian until this.

[Timurishko]

"it's no secret that many Africans living in Russia often face hostility"
I am Russian and I only now found out about this secret. How many these "no secrets" that I don't know yet?

[stevengreen]

Much respect for this brother. He persevered and is making his community better.

[woodsandcreek]

A good hearted person with integrity will always be highly valued. Many blessings to him!

[grpmizw]

From my experience Russians love black people, we just don't see them all that often.