Mikhail Eremeev

During the 1980’s the USSR underwent a monumental change when President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced what he called ‘Perestroika’. The country moved away from the communist model towards a more liberal environment and with it there was a massive shift through a political, social and cultural revolution. Perestroika held so much promise for the Russian people, although the reality was far different from the ideal.

As the USSR adopted Gorbachev’s open policy reform of glasnost the Soviet Union began to dissolve as territories sought their independence. One of those republics was Belarus, who declared their state sovereignty in 1990. It was in this environment that Mikhail Eremeev was born in the former Soviet State. His mother then took Mikhail and his older sister to Moscow, but it was a life underpinned by poverty, frustration and anger as his mother and step-father drowned their troubles in alcohol.

By the time Mikhail was 12 he was living in an orphanage and it was here that he began to turn his life around. Despite having no money he dreamed of travelling the world and decided the only way he could do that was through education. With a little bit of good fortune he seized on an opportunity to visit the US and he hasn’t stopped travelling since, but it’s Australia – and more specifically the Gold Coast, where his heart lies and where he plans to stay after completing his Masters in Hospitality and Management at Griffith University.