There is a third question, always unasked but nevertheless a talking point among all Russians who know me: “What does he stay here for?” There are no quick answers to these questions but these three short articles might help to throw some light on this matter.

Sharapova in Nationality Feud
Reuters, UK, Monday, August 2, 2004
Mike Blake / Reuters

At last week's Acura Women’s Tennis Classic, tension among Russian players broke into the open when Yelena Dementyeva said fellow countrywoman Maria Sharapova was "not really Russian."

Then French Open champion, Anastasia Myskina, joined the debate by suggesting the Wimbledon winner's mentality was American. Myskina cast doubts on whether Sharapova had ever been back to Russia since moving to the United States at the age of 7 for tennis coaching.

"Maria lives in the United States and she's more comfortable speaking English than she is speaking Russian," Myskina said. "But if she wants to play [for us] in the Fed Cup next year, why not? We want to have all the good players because it's easier to win matches."

Sharapova feels comfortable living in the United States but says she has not adopted the country that she lives in. "I don't feel American at all," Sharapova said. "I feel this is part of my job. Even though I train in America, I'm still Russian. I came to the United States because of my tennis ... I moved here because of my tennis, not for anything else."

The foreign poppy syndrome
By Russell Skelton, November 13, 2004

At US universities, Australian professors teach Americans how to succeed in business. In Tokyo, others wait on tables at five-star hotels, speaking fluent Japanese. Still others can be seen on cable news, dressed in flak-jackets, escorting Iraq's political leaders through their perilous landscape.

Almost 5 per cent of the Australian population currently live abroad, 25% of them in Britain and Ireland, 25% in Continental Europe, almost 20 per cent in Asia and almost 20% in North America.

Unlike the Jewish, Chinese, Indian, Italian and Irish diaspora, Australia's has not been created by catastrophe but by globalisation of the labour market, a sense of adventure and a chance to use their talents on the world stage.

Not so long ago, expats were denied the right to hold two passports, forcing them to choose either Australia or the country where they work. Voting has also been a problem. A web of requirements makes it virtually impossible for any expat to cast a ballot. The much-criticised tax laws also heavily penalise anyone returning.

They also find it difficult to obtain work.

One expat claimed, "My return to Australia in 1997 showed me that if your business is not in selling imported products, then Australia is a dead end." Another said: "I feel very bitter about not being able to fit back into Australia, so I returned to Japan - a country that values my skills and provides me with more opportunity."

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee chairman, Nick Bolkus, told The Age there are problems with expats returning. The attitude in the country is that "the person I hire today, with all that experience and with those qualifications, could be my boss tomorrow".

There exists a strong anti-expat feeling in the Australian community and it has been labelled the ‘foreign poppy syndrome’. People who try to better themselves are looked down on, particular if they take their skills overseas.

Repatriation
Leslie Gross Klaff Looksmart [U.S.A.], July, 2002

Almost a third of repatriates end up abroad again, research shows. Coming home from overseas is often harder than leaving. Repats face a myriad of changes, often referred to as "reverse culture shock."

When they return, there's a tendency to expect that life will be just the way it was when they left, but it rarely is. There are professional changes that may require adapting to a different corporate culture, and personal adjustments as well. Repats have to learn how to re-enter the workforce.

Their friends may have moved on and co-workers and others get tired of hearing stories about life abroad. At the office, repats are often placed in specially constructed, temporary jobs and feel as though they are being put on hold. To fix the situation, they usually look to change something. It's often the job and then the country itself.

They go back overseas.