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A Russian couple who've made St. John's home say that, despite the big protests, Russia isn't ready for democracy.

Born in the East, the couple came to this province as refugees.

They say they're happy raising their family in St. John's, but life in the old USSR was ideal.

"People lived peaceful life, had jobs, travelled around the country," said Olga Dudko, who came to St. John's 10 years ago. "We had everything."

After the fall of the USSR, there was no security. "Criminal minds, they basically took over the entire country," Sergey Chudinov said.

Dudko and Chudinov left the USSR separately but met in St. John's.

Chudinov is from a fishing community is Northern Russia, a place called the Kola Peninsula.

When he arrived in this province he worked as a fisherman off Newfoundland's shores for 15 years before driving a taxi to spend more time at home. The couple has two boys.

They say when President Vladimir Putin took power in 2000 life in Russia improved. He stayed as on as president until 2008, but that was as much as the constitution allowed at the time.

In the recent election, Putin ran for an unprecedented third term. He won with 64 per cent of the vote, but has been accused of election fraud.

Excerpt from:
Russian expats question democracy in their homeland