“The language turned out to be the hardest part for me”: What challenges do participants in the Alabuga Start program face?

“The language turned out to be the hardest part for me”: What challenges do participants in the Alabuga Start program face?

Alabuga Start international program is becoming increasingly popular among young people in our country. This initiative offers young women aged 18 to 22 the chance to move to Russia and start building their careers in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone.

The program description is certainly appealing, but only someone who has actually participated in Alabuga Start can truly describe what relocating to Alabuga is like. Redemptor Cathy spoke exclusively to Campus Bee about the challenges of adapting to life in Russia, learning a new language and culture, and discovering the quirks of the local cuisine.

«Money’s become the key factor for me»

My name is Redemptor Cathy, I’m 23 years old and I’m from Uganda. I’ve always been curious about how people live in other countries. I’ve dreamed of making decent money to travel the world someday. But with the average salary in Uganda being about $220 a month, it’s hard to imagine being able to afford a big trip like that.

The opportunity actually found me — I came across the international Alabuga Start program, which advertised a monthly salary of $860. At first, I found it hard to believe that such salaries were real, but after chatting with other participants in a group chat and talking with my HR representative, they convinced me it was true. That’s when I decided to give Catering a try through the program.

I started my career as a kitchen worker at Shokoladnitsa Cafe, where I helped with food preparation, learned to cook Russian dishes, and got to know the menu. After six months, I was promoted to waitress and received a pay raise. By then, I was already mentoring a new Alabuga Start participant from Nigeria, who had just begun her journey in the catering industry.

“Russia’s winters? Breathtaking nature, thrilling sports – it’s all here.”

I first heard about the Alabuga Start program from my friends, who saw advertisements for it on social media. I decided to give it a try, so I applied on the website and immediately began learning 100 Russian words from the provided list, since that was required to participate. Not long after, Alabuga’s HR specialists got in touch with me and answered all my questions about the program.

Interestingly, another mandatory step before the Alabuga Start HR interview involved completing a namesake computer game. As my HR supervisor later explained, this business simulation is a proprietary tool developed by Alabuga SEZ to assess three-dimensional and logical reasoning skills.

Once all my documents were gathered, my medical exam was finished, and I received my visa, Alabuga bought my tickets to Russia.

When I first stepped outside in Kazan (the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan), I was amazed – I had never seen snow before in Uganda. Winter in Tatarstan is truly beautiful, and the region offers just as many wonderful winter sports. Last year, I learned to skate and ski for the first time, and this winter, my friends and I joined the biggest snowball fight with students from Alabuga Polytech.

“When I tried borscht, I was surprised.”

It was difficult to get used to new dishes, I had never tried Russian cuisine before.

My first encounter with traditional Russian borscht is quite a tale in itself. I remember being fascinated by this unique dish… These days I’ve mastered cooking it myself, and not just borscht – I’ve also learned to make manti, ochpochmak, and rassolnik soup. They’re all classics from both Russian and Tatar culinary traditions.

Of course, the challenges weren’t just about getting used to local ingredients — the cultural differences and language barrier were tough too. At first, Russian felt impossible: everyone spoke so quickly, I struggled to express myself, and I relied on a translator constantly. That frustration actually pushed me to work harder in my Russian lessons with our teacher Yoanna. Now, I can chat comfortably with native speakers. My colleagues at Alabuga have been great too — whenever I ask them to practice, they’re happy to help. It’s a win-win: they improve their English while I work on my Russian.

I’m continuing to improve my Russian while also starting to learn Chinese.

My friends often ask how I managed to climb the career ladder so quickly. Honestly, there’s no big secret. It really comes down to working hard, taking your responsibilities seriously, and never skipping those Russian language lessons. In our line of work, it’s crucial not just to understand Russian well, but to speak it fluently and accurately.

I’m definitely not going to stop there. Now I am 23 years old, I have been working at the Shokoladnitsa Cafe for more than a year, I managed to get my first promotion, I earn more than $ 1,100 a month and help my parents. Very soon, a friend from Uganda will fly to me to become a part of Alabuga Start.

If you have any questions about moving to Russia, living there, or about Alabuga Start, feel free to ask in the comments — I’m happy to help with anything you want to know.