Acrobats who defected from Russia in 1992 return to thank Newfoundland 'mom'

Russian acrobats who defected to Canada in 1992 have returned to St. John's to celebrate a Newfoundland woman who helped them restart their lives.

The former members of the world-famous Moscow Circus and their growing families continue to perform across North America. They say that would not have been possible without the kindness they found in St. John's.

"Judy did everything for us. She took my hand and gave me my first steps in Canada. Judy, I love you. For me, she's like my mom," said Alex Arestov.

Arestov was one of seven Russians who defected in Gander more than three decades ago and then months later found safe haven at the Cygnus Gymnastics Club in St. John's.

They were raised in the circus, schooled and trained to become acrobats, performers who toured the world as ambassadors for the USSR. But just months before they arrived in Canada the Soviet Union dissolved. The country's future was as deeply uncertain as theirs was when they arrived in St. John's in January 1992.

"I knew just two words: hi and goodbye. That's all," said Arestov, who returned to Newfoundland and Labrador with his wife, Elena, and two of their children, Ivan and Sasha, this April.

In 1992, they needed a place to keep up their skills and train, and they were lucky to find the Cygnus Club, which at that time was in the Buckmaster Circle area of St. John's.

"A miracle," said Arestov.

"We just walked in and we couldn't believe it because we knew nothing but when we saw the gym, when we saw children jumping on trampolines doing gymnastics, we thought, 'This is our place.' I was an acrobat so for me it was, 'Wow, maybe we can practise here?'"

In the early 1990s Tulk was the manager at Cygnus. She spoke no Russian but that didn't stop her.

"They were there every day but no one was communicating because we couldn't. So one day I said, 'We got to go down and make contact,'" she said.

"I went down and I sat on the side of the pit, and Alex came over and we looked at each other and I said 'hello' and he said 'hi.'"

Their relationship grew from there, and slowly Tulk helped them settle into St. John's. They learned from each other.

"They had ideas about coaching and different moves that we don't have and we have a lot of ideas that they didn't have. So we just shared, and they coached the girls and they loved it. We were so amazed at what they were doing. We had never seen anything like it, and they were just turning this seven-year-old [son Simon] — I mean, he was like a pretzel."