It has now been two years since Robert and Liliya met through Anastasiaweb and were married. Things couldn't be better. Robert, now 43, and Liliya, now 25, are an American-Russian couple who bring the best of both cultures together into a loving relationship and a successful business. They are celebrating their two wedding year anniversary on March 1, 2001 with great satisfaction and tremendous optimism. It is well deserved, as they extremely happy and operate the largest flower and gift delivery service in the world for Russia, Ukraine and the CIS: Flower & Gift International.
The fun started upon Liliya's arrival in Los Angeles in January of 1999, with K-1 visa in hand. She had spent the past three months studying English and learning about the USA. She spoke well, but was not fluent, and Robert's Russian sounded like Pig Latin. Nevertheless, communication was not a problem, and they were up most of that first night exchanging gifts and looking at photos of Russia and the USA, speaking in broken languages and using two huge Russian-English dictionaries Liliya had brought with her in her suitcase. Within two months Liliya was speaking conversational English and was fluent enough to memorize the vows for their wedding ceremony on March 1. They were married in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a small ski town known for its picturesque mountains and lake.
 For the next several months Liliya and Robert had their hands full with applications, acclimation, more English and best of all, learning to drive. Liliya had driven in Russia and had a Russian driver's license, but that did not prepare her for the task of driving on the Los Angeles freeways, an arduous task for even the most seasoned LA driver. She was more than up to the challenge, however, and was soon passing vehicles in true LA style.
The DMV license proved to be an even more difficult challenge. They refused to recognize her residency as her I-94 entry permit had expired and the Los Angeles INS office was unable to issue the "Green Card" that was due her. They did give her a temporary, paper license, and she carried that with her Russian international passport for identification.
With her newfound freedom and efficiency, Liliya started looking for a new challenge. She wanted to work and start a family - she wanted it all. She and Robert decided to search for a suitable occupation for her that made use of both their available skills and that Liliya could do from home. They combined Liliya's bilingual speech and management skills with Robert's computer design ability and formed a small, Internet-based company to deliver flowers to a few cities in Russia. They soon realized that they could deliver more than flowers and thus Flower & Gift International was born. It was truly a marriage of the minds, because without Robert's Web page automation and Liliya's now exceptional communication skills it could not have worked. They expanded into more and more cities, adding service agents and new products like Teddy Bears and delivery photographs. Their slogan became "Flowers Speak All Languages!" They realized that sending flowers was a form of communication, and that their company was really a communication company. They then added a translation and letter delivery service, Russian Translation International, and became agents for a discount long distance telephone company and called that division Telecom International. They decided that there were many couples and potential couples like they, all in need of better communications, and that they could help these people using the experience of their own lives.
It was a success! As the company expanded business increased and as business increased word of the small company with great customer service spread. Now Flower & Gift International has agents in over 100 cities in eight countries, and neither Robert or Liliya get enough sleep. They are very happy, however, and spend each day solving business problems and learning about customers and management. In the Russian-American community they are considered models of a successful relationship and an example to which all should aspire. They combine the best of both cultures and acheive a result that is better than either alone. They knew going in to their adventure that there were risks, and they knew that with nothing ventured nothing could be gained. The best they could do would be to minimize those risks and work toward a mutual understanding of the various problems and challenges. For them it worked, and for many others it can also work. It takes the desire to succeed and the refusal to accept the average.
We at Anastasiaweb wish them a very Happy Anniversary with many, many more to come, we are sure! For all those who are interested, their Web sites are listed below. Good luck, Robert and Liliya, with all your adventures!
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