Background:

Sonya Litvinenko was born on June 26, 1957, in Ukraine. She grew up in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, and eventually got her education in chemical technology and economics. Forming her family, she married her husband Boris and had a daughter Yekaterina. In 1996, when she was 39 years old, her family decided to move to San Antonio, Texas. The motives of her migration were because Ukraine was full of crime and poverty. Sonya described Ukraine as “absolutely crazy” and explained how difficult it was to get a job. She claimed that "she wanted to live a normal sophisticated life," and it was the United States that could fulfill that dream. After talking to her more, I learned about her lifestyle and the country itself. I was eager to ask about the horrific incident of Chernobyl after previously watching the Apple TV show. Sonya exclaimed about how poorly the government treated the situation, saying that they had no clue it happened until weeks later. She also explained how for most of her life and up until 1991 Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Boris chimed in and explained the cultural differences in the country between Eastern Ukraine, Western Ukraine, and Southern Ukraine. Living in Western Ukraine, they spoke Russian and assimilated with Russia, versus Eastern Ukraine which spoke Ukrainian. Southern Ukraine spoke various languages surrounding the Mediterranian Sea. When the Soviet Union fell, they described the differences in lifestyle, "you were now fighting your neighbor." The country was split in half between a more Russian assimilated culture and Ukrainian culture. This created a hostile country and one they did not feel safe in. Their journey to America started six years prior in 1992 when Boris visited relatives in Texas to see if America was the right fit. When he returned, he said, "listen, it's a country that gives people opportunity. How you use that opportunity is up to you." It was not until six years later that they decided to make a move. For them, it was a quick decision in a time of poverty and crime.