A New Zealand man who met his Russian birth father for the first time two years ago has opened up on how their bond has changed his life.
Alex Gilbert, 25, grew up in Whangarei on New Zealand’s North Island after being adopted from Arkhangelsk in Russia.
He managed to track down his birth parents through social media with just his mother’s name and the address of his Russian orphanage.
Mr Gilbert posted a video to social media on Wednesday in which he reflects on how much his life has changed since meeting his birth parents in 2013.
Alex Gilbert, 25, grew up in Whangarei on New Zealand’s North Island after being adopted from Arkhangelsk in Russia
Mr Gilbert posted a video to social media on Wednesday in which he reflects on how much his life has changed since meeting his birth parents in 2013
‘When I told my mum and dad that I had been in touch with my birth father after him not even knowing I existed was quite a shock for all of us, and we didn’t know what was going to be in store,’ Mr Gilbert said.
‘I understand that he was just really overwhelmed about absolutely everything and he thanked me constantly, to my mum and dad for raising me and making me who I am today.’
Footage of the pair embracing after meeting for the first time is included in the video.
‘Going back to 2013 I remember going to Russia and meeting him for the first time and just how excited he was to actually meet me.’
Mr Gilbert was born on April 1, 1992 to Tatiana Gusovskaia and Mihail Kovkov. Mr Gilbert and his brother Andrei were adopted by New Zealanders Mark and Janice Gilbert in 1994.
His father Mr Kovov wasn’t aware he had a son until Mr Gilbert contacted him through social media in 2013.
In the video posted to Mr Gilbert’s Facebook page, Mr Kovkov praises his son.
‘Sasha, I am very thankful for you for just being you. You found me at last and you did it by yourself,’ he said.
‘I will say again, I didn’t know about your existence, so I would like to thank you so much.’
Mr Gilbert said both he and his birth parents were ‘overwhelmed’ when they first met.
He managed to track down his birth parents through social media with just his mother’s name and the address of his Russian orphanage
Eventually Mr Kovkov met Mr Gilbert’s parents Mark and Janice in 2015.
‘I really respect [Mr Kovkov] so much and because he’s opened up that door for me, into his life,’ Mr Gilbert said.
‘And he’s let me into his family, and with my mum and dad we have this relationship now where our family has grown bigger and he’s part of that.
‘Our personalities are very similar and if you saw us walking down the street of course you know we would be related.’