Why Russian women are flying to Argentina to give birth
The country offers visa-free entry and birthright citizenship
ARGENTINA HAS always been a country of immigrants. In the 19th century millions of Italians and Spaniards came to plough the country’s fields. More recently hundreds of thousands of Bolivians, Paraguayans and Venezuelans have arrived. But the latest wave is different. According to Florencia Carignano, the head of Argentina’s immigration authority, some 22,000 Russians entered Argentina last year—and an unusually high number were pregnant women, many close to term. Restaurants in Palermo, a posh area in Buenos Aires, have issued menus in Russian. The city’s Russian Orthodox church is suddenly bustling. Why are women travelling halfway around the world to give birth?
From the March 18th 2023 edition
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