Malin is one of more than 200 Swedish women who have travelled to the Russian 'celebrity clinic' since Putin's full-scale invasion. Photo: Judit Nilsson
Swedish Malin stands at the Russian border. Thousands of kronas are being hidden in her shoe. The desire to have a child has driven her to enter Russia — in the middle of Putin's burning war against Ukraine.
Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden | Text: Erik Nilsson | Photo: Judit Nilsson | Translation into English: Anna Svarinskaya
Published 2024-12-25
Original version in Swedish on Svenska Dagbladet website →
Original version in Swedish (PDF) →
She flew to Tallinn first, then took the train to the Estonian border town of Narva and will now cross the river to the Russian side, on foot.
It is the middle of summer. Malin has never been to Russia before, doesn’t speak Russian and is all alone facing the armed guards. She has heard about a Swedish woman who was detained and interrogated in a room.
On her way across the bridge to the border control, scary thoughts are following one another. The equivalent of 25,000 kronas both in dollars and euros are hidden in a thin fanny pack and under the sole of one of her shoes. What if someone finds them?
Putin invaded the neighboring country a few months ago and the MFA advises against all travel to Russia. The EU has stopped all air traffic to and from the country.
But Malin, an ordinary teacher from southern Sweden, has made up her mind.
- “You almost shit yourself because you are so nervous. You travel to a country that is at war and you don't know what to expect.
“The whole world fell apart”
Malin is at home, sitting on the sofa and showing pictures from the border on her phone. It has been
over two years. Tiny sausage fingers try to grip the screen. In her arms she has a little girl with round cheeks.
Today, the girl probably doesn't understand much, but on the table lays a binder with everything saved. Pictures, receipts and written details from the Russian celebrity clinic.
Malin is showing pictures from the Russian border. Photo: Judit Nilsson
The original plan was never about going to Russia. Her dream was a nuclear family. But after graduation Malin wasn't ready. And then the years passed. Men came in and out of her life.
No one seemed able to take on the role of father.
Suddenly she was approaching 40.
- I've been asked this question probably a hundred thousand times in my life: “Do you have children? Really? But aren’t you kind of old?”. Every question like that has been a real pain. I've always wanted to have children, she says.
When Malin decided to become a mother on her own, using donor sperm, it was too late.
In Sweden, a woman can be a maximum of 39 years old if she is to start a treatment paid for by the tax-funded healthcare system. Private clinics accept older patients than that, but Malin went to Denmark.
That's where she received an unwanted message. She had no viable eggs in her body.
- The whole world fell apart. The train had left.
Malin broke down. But the dream of becoming a mother was not dead.
The Danish clinic informed her about the possibility of having a child with donor eggs, which is also possible in Sweden. For a long time, Malin wondered how it would feel like for a child to have no genetic connection to his/her mother.
- Having children is a selfish act. There is no getting away from it. But to do it via egg donation is a bit “worse”.
Malin is reading fairy tales to her daughter. Photo: Judit Nilsson
Why is it selfish to have children?
- It is not the child's choice to come into this world, it is your own decision. Isn't it?
Then you have lots of love and a good upbringing to give.
Malin assumed that it would be almost impossible to get the chance of adoption being single and almost 40. So she finally settled on the idea of having a child with donor eggs. But the Danish treatment was expensive and the waiting list was too long.
That's when the plan for Russia was born.
Celebrity clinic with baby guarantee
If you think about IVF and start googling, you'll soon end up with Olga.
The fertility clinic in St. Petersburg treats women up to the age of 53 and has long marketed itself to Swedish women and couples. Famous Swedes like boxer Mikaela Laurén and artist Titiyo are examples of former patients who have openly shared their success stories from the clinic.
Olga also organizes information seminars in Sweden. Earlier this year, a seminar was held in Stockholm with Titiyo, podcaster and former Olga patient Cilla Holm and journalist Hanna Hellquist, who has written and spoken several times about the desire for children.
Hanna Hellquist says that she has been a patient at Olga's relatively newly opened branch in Cyprus, has not been to Russia and has never had any paid cooperation with the clinic. At the seminar, she talked about her thoughts on when it is time to give up the dream of children.
- “I am not an ambassador for the clinic, and if I had been, I would have been a very bad one because I have not gotten pregnant yet,” she says.
Olga Zaytseff, founder of the clinic in Saint Petersburg. Photo: Press photo
In an email, the founder and face of the clinic, Olga Zaytseff, explains why they are marketing themselves to Swedes. She says that the clinic is treating women from different countries, but that in many of them, infertility is a taboo.
“Sweden, on the other hand, is one of few countries that has created an incredibly supportive and understanding environment for women and couples struggling with infertility,” she writes.
Since February 2019, 1008 Swedish women have received treatment in Saint Petersburg and 648 of them have had children with the help of the clinic, according to Olga Zaytseff. She believes that many Swedes go to the clinic because of its 'baby guarantee', which is different from its competitors.
“The concept is simple: if no baby is born after a certain number of attempts included in the program, we refund 100% of the costs paid,” she writes.
For Malin, this offer was crucial.
With the clinic’s help, she also got to talk to two former Swedish patients who had children after treatment in St. Petersburg.
- Both said that going to Denmark would just be throwing money away. “Go to Russia right away”.
“I understand if people are offended”
When Putin started his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Malin had already decided to go to Russia.
- Everything came to my head. Would I really dare? Or would my desire for children be ruined because of a war? That was my perspective. Small in the grand scheme of things, if you are thinking of the poor people affected by the war. But there it was.
Western sanctions against Russia made everything difficult. Malin managed to get a medical visa through the Russian embassy and travel insurance through an Armenian company. Then there were troubles with the money.
Russia had been banned from the international Swift payment system, so it was not possible to pay by card. Instead, she had to travel with more cash than allowed. Even though the largest bill, 180,000 SEK for the clinic, could be arranged through an American company.
“My longing for children drove me there,” says Malin. Photo: Judit Nilsson
What did you think about defying the travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
- I didn't have many options. There are also many other people traveling to the countries with travel advisories. I don't really feel that I broke anything. I just signed up on the Swedish list at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the border with Russia, Malin had to queue for an hour. Foot sweat began to loosen up the hidden banknotes at the edges.
Finally she was let in and there was a taxi waiting to take her to St. Petersburg.
How did you view the fact that Russia was waging a war against Ukraine and that there were sanctions?
- I don't want to favor it really. But then it was a selfish perspective. My desire for children drove me there. I understand if people are offended.
Concerns about the Fjallraven bag
In Saint Petersburg, treatment took time and energy. Malin was there for a few days.
The clinic organized a “city tour” and at some point she ate in a restaurant with other patients, but otherwise stayed mostly in the hotel.
Malin didn't feel unsafe, but she was constantly on edge.
- “I thought a lot about not showing off that I was Swedish. I had a Fjallraven kanken bag with a tiny Swedish flag and was worried that it would be seen.
During the first trip she was only there for the examinations. The next time, an embryo, a fertilized egg, was transferred.
Back in Sweden, Malin had to struggle to make ends meet. Endless nagging was required to get
help with ultrasound examinations and medicines from the Swedish healthcare system. At the same time she had to cope with her job and make several long journeys.
And all the struggle seemed to be in vain. By her fourth trip, hope began to fade and she asked the clinic how long it would take to get her money back.
But then one day a test indicated that Malin could have been pregnant. She went to a gynecologist who looked for the sound of a ticking little heart.
- And there she was.
This is how much everything cost
Malin's daughter is about to turn one and has been keeping her up half of the night. Little baby teeth are coming out.
Sitting on the sofa, Malin says she dreams of her daughter growing up in a house outside the city.
- “I have so much love to give. It will be so much fun to share life with her.
Malin has fulfilled her dream of becoming a mother. Photo: Judit Nilsson
She starts flipping through the binder with the ultrasound images and notes about the process.
Malin knows quite a lot about both her sperm and egg donors through the clinic. She has received information about their profession, health history and why they chose to donate their gametes. She has also received photographs of them.
- I have printed pictures and plan to put together a book for my daughter about the whole journey and how she came to be. I'm also talking to her about this now.
In total, Malin has spent more than SEK 400 000 on travel, treatment and medicines - which she raised by extending her mortgage. Medical risks, both for child and mother,increase with age. But for Malin and her daughter, most things have gone well.
Malin is glad she went to Russia, but wishes she wouldn’t have to do it. She believes that women, like herself, should get better help from the Swedish healthcare system. All along she has felt thwarted by a “square” system, she says.
- If I had listened to the healthcare system, my daughter would not be sitting here with us today.
Risk of imprisonment in Russia
More Swedish women share Malin's experience. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a total of 211 Swedish women have been treated at the OLGA Clinic in Saint Petersburg, says Olga Zaytseff. SvD has spoken to a handful of them and they see the trips to wartime Russia as a “necessary evil”.
On its website, the Swedish embassy in Moscow warns that its ability to provide consular support is limited and that foreign citizens who criticize Russia's armed forces risk fines or imprisonment. Even posts and comments on social media can lead to punishment.
But in an email, Olga Zaytseff downplays the risks and writes that the clinic helps its patients with all kinds of problems.
“The Swedish travel advisory is based more on political factors than on actual safety concerns. Our patients who choose to travel to St. Petersburg do so after a careful evaluation of their personal reasons and the situation. For those who do not feel comfortable traveling to St. Petersburg, we are happy to welcome them to Cyprus,” she writes.
Malin has been open with her family and loved ones about her process.
No one has openly reacted in a negative way to her choice to go to Russia, she says.
- “People mostly said that it was brave of me to go and supported me on my journey towards becoming a mother on my own.
* Malin is not our interviewee’s real name.
Erik Nilsson
Judit Nilsson
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