- I'm Alex Gilbert, and I spent the first two years of my life in a Russian orphanage. In 1994, I was adopted... - Sasha. - ...and brought to New Zealand. I had a great Kiwi childhood, but I couldn't help feeling like something was missing. So eight years ago, I set out to find my birth family. - Privyet. - Hello. - It was the best decision of my life. - Hello. - (GROANS HAPPILY) And now I help others do the same. So how can I help? - I have tried look for family, and I've had no luck. - Do you have any memories from the orphanage? - No. Don't remember a single thing. - Countless people across the world just like me... want to reconnect with their missing families. - I'm really happy for her. - Welcome to St Petersburg. - (CHUCKLES) - It's more emotional than what I've ever considered. - Good luck. - (SOBS) - Join us on these amazing journeys as we cross continents to see families reunited. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 (GENTLE MUSIC) I'm on my way to Gore to meet Viktoria Rundle. She reached out to me and the I'm Adopted community, seeking help in finding her birth family in Russia, and I'm really looking forward to meeting her. 28-year-old Viktoria grew up with her adoptive parents in Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands. Viktoria made the move south more than 10 years ago to work as a herd manager on a dairy farm outside of Gore. - So, I really enjoy my job. I'm just a very outdoor person. I love being outside and being around the animals, and I bring my dog out. I love being around her, and it's just something I've just always really enjoyed doing. - A classic Kiwi childhood nurtured Viktoria's love of the outdoors. - Hey, girl. Hello. You enjoying that? Eh? You enjoying that? 'My parents here in New Zealand had a 40-acre lifestyle block.' It was a really good childhood being outside and being around animals, 'and, yeah, you got to do so much. It was a great lifestyle.' Hello, number two. Hello. (SNICKERS) Not a lick in the face. No thank you. - Rural New Zealand is a long way from the Russian orphanage where Viktoria's life started. - I remember staying in an orphanage with a whole heap of young kids. We had a big room where we would sleep in together. Up, girls! Get up. Get up. And we wouldn't go outside very often because it was very cold. I was five years old when I was adopted from Russia. I don't really remember too much about my early life, my birth parents. I don't remember anything. I don't know what they look like. I have no memory of that. Just little bits here and there. - Viktoria has many happy memories of family life in her adopted country, but she's always felt something was missing. As I started to get into my teenage years and learning, like, about myself and growing up, and wondering where I was from and what happened, and just questions that have always stayed in my mind and wanted to find out. It's just always been there, but I haven't really known where to go or where to start, or what to do about it. I've talked to my parents here in New Zealand about it, but, from` Yeah, they just told me what they know, and that's it. (PENSIVE GUITAR MUSIC) - Viktoria's adoptive parents, Shirley and Stephen Rundle live on a smallholding outside of Kerikeri. - I think your mum bought it. - The dress? - That dress, for her birthday. - She was` yeah. - In 1997, after a heart-breaking five years trying to have their own children, they decided to adopt. But it was much harder than they anticipated. - It became quickly evident that it was very difficult to adopt in New Zealand. - Finding it was almost impossible, they decided to look overseas. - A friend of ours in Auckland knew somebody who had adopted children from Russia, and we thought 'Well, why not?' - You know, there's pros and cons around adopting internationally. Obviously the language, the culture. - Yeah. - The whole, 'Is it the right thing to do?' In the sense you're taking a child from its home country. So we kind of worked through that, and then it was a case of, 'OK, we're gonna go,' and I guess we always wanted to have two children, didn't we? - Yes, we did. - That was part of it. The second was we felt that they would be a family. They would have each other then, as opposed to... - ...just one child. - ...just one child. - Yeah. - The couple adopted two children from Russia; Viktoria and Alex. The whole process took about a year. Choosing them, however, was much simpler. - They sent us a medical report, and then they sent us videos. I think Vika's and Alex's were the first two children. - (WOMAN SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - SHIRLEY: Viktoria, she was` There was just something about her, and I couldn't say no to her. (CHUCKLES, SOBS) Sorry, I'm going to start crying again. I was watching the videos again the other day and I was crying. I said to Stephen. I said, you know, 'There was something about her that just caught my heartstrings.' SOBS: I couldn't say no to her. (BOTH CHUCKLE) (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) - Viktoria and her adopted brother had a happy childhood growing up in rural New Zealand. However, the Rundles were determined not to let the children forget where they're from. - In fact, the kids have always been aware right from the start that they were adopted. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - STEPHEN: We wanted the kids to know that they're from Russia. They should be proud of that, and we tried to give them the background that we knew. At various stages, we would revisit this, and we had the tapes, and we showed them. - We'd bring out the notes every so often and talk to them about it. - Notes. Yeah. - Because we felt it was important for them to understand. - Shirley knows first-hand what it's like to be uprooted from everything that's familiar. - I was born in Trinidad, in the Caribbean. And I grew up` effectively, I... My mother died when I was 7, and so I left Trinidad and I went to live in Barbados, which is where all the rest of my family live. I have a lot` Look at me. I'm probably going to start crying. (LAUGHS) I do understand, you know, when you take a child away from their birth family. I do have some understanding of that, yeah. - It's been far too long of wanting to do this for so many years. It would answer a whole heap of questions for me. It would... (SIGHS) make me feel complete. (BIRDS TWITTER) (REFLECTIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC) - I've made it to Gore, where I hope Viktoria is waiting for me. So far, we only know each other through email. Hello, Viktoria. - Hi, Alex. - Nice to meet you. - You too. Good to finally see you. - It's good to see you. And your story that you sent through to me is awesome, it's incredible. - (CHUCKLES) - And I'd like for you to tell me about that story. When were you interested in searching for your family in Russia? - Oh, gosh. I've always been interested. Like, um,... As I was growing up, I'd wondered bits about it, and what happened and why, and things like that, but I guess really over the last` well, my late teens and early 20s, that's when it really hit me. What do you know of your birth family? - I don't know much at all, sorry. I know their names. I know where they're from. I've been told by my parents here in New Zealand that they were possibly divorced. I know I have a birth sister somewhere. - Yeah. - I don't know anything about her. I don't even know her name. Yeah, not too much else, really ` just small bits. - Small pieces of information. - Yes, just very basic stuff. Yep. - Are your New Zealand parents supportive of you looking for them? - Yes, they are. They're very, very supportive. Mum, she's been very excited throughout this whole journey so far. She (CHUCKLES) rings me up everyday and sees how I'm going and how things are going, yeah. - Everyday? - Yeah, so far. (LAUGHS) - That's a lot of support. (LAUGHS) Guess so! - Guess so? - (LAUGHS) The other thing I'm kind of scared of too is my... my mum here in New Zealand feeling like I'm not... not, like, rejecting her, but not kind of` Uh, I don't know how to explain it, but I wanted to make her feel she's still important to me if I do find my other family. So, yeah. - Your mum and dad here are your mum and dad. - Exactly. - They raised you. - Yes. I don't want them to feel like they're not important to me if I do find my birth parents over there; if I do find them. So, yeah. - What would it mean to you to find your birth parents? - Uh, it would mean the world to me, really. It would make me complete, I guess. I don't know, it sounds silly like that, but yeah. It'd just fill that missing gap for me. I'd be ecstatic. I'd be over the moon. I wouldn't know how to react, really. (LAUGHS) But yeah. Inside, I'd be so, so happy. Yeah. - I think a lot of us who are searching for relatives or birth families, we always have to be prepared for anything that comes our way. You don't know what's around the corner. - No. - You never know what's going to happen. It can be hard. - I haven't quite mentally prepared myself for that yet, but... - What's the one thing you fear the most? - Um, being` I fear being rejected by my birth parents. Um, yeah, them not wanting to know me is a big fear for me. (LAUGHS) Mum she says that 'If nothing happens, then you can at least say you've tried.' - Let's see what we can find. - Yeah. - All of us adoptees know the fear of rejection. I know better than most the courage it takes to set a search like this in motion. There's not much to go on as I set about tracking down her birth family, but I'm determined not to let her down. The big question is, 'What will I find?' - She's in pretty good nick ` only done 110,000 K's; WOF and rego, you know, full service history. Try and get in. - What is this? - This is a one-star safety-rated car. (GRUNTS) - I don't understand. What's going on? - People don't often think about how a car will crash ` you know, how it will protect you. That's what a star safety rating tells you. Just can't imagine. Like, if` if we crashed in a car like this, there's no way we would survive. (AIRY ELECTRONIC MUSIC) I'm Alex Gilbert, and I was adopted from a Russian orphanage and brought to New Zealand when I was 2 years old. In my own journey to find my birth family, I founded 'I'm Adopted', a charity organisation that provides a support network for adoptees around the world. 5-year-old Viktoria was adopted from Russia in 1998 and given a loving home in Kerikeri with Shirley and Stephen and her adopted brother. - Come here. - Now 28, Viktoria has reached out to me for help in finding the missing links in her life. Tamara, my assistant and translator, is helping me to reach out to various Russian groups. All Viktoria had to give me was her parents' names and her birth city, Severodvinsk. I didn't show it, but my heart sank when I heard where she came from. The port city houses one of Russia's most important naval bases, making it off limits to foreigners without a special permit. It's almost impossible to be granted access. This could be a huge road block to helping Viktoria connect with her identity. I know how important this is for Viktoria. I contacted the Orphanage in Severodvinsk to confirm we had the right place, and started reaching out to local community groups. I'm going to be calling on everything I've learned from my experience of tracking down my own Russian family. Sooner than expected, I'm making the trip back to Gore with information that will be life-changing for Viktoria. I always get anxious when I'm about to deliver news like this. I'm not sure how she'll take what I'm about to say. So I'm really glad Viktoria has brought along her boss, Jason, for some support. Well, I've got some news. - Oh, yes. - Yep, and... do you want to hear it? - I do! (LAUGHS) I really do. - So we've made contact with your birth mother. - Whoo-hoo! Oh my God. Wow. - And she really wants to see you. Would you like to meet her? - Yes. (SOBS SOFTLY) (TENDER PIANO MUSIC) (SOBS) - It's OK. - TEARFULLY: That's so cool. I never thought that... you would get ahold of anybody. I'm so happy. - She's just very ecstatic and very` She's like, 'I want to see her.' - (CHUCKLES) - So that's what we're going to do. We're going to go. I'll come with you, and we will go and take that journey together and we'll go and meet your birth mother. - (CHUCKLES, SOBS) I'm so sorry. - It's all right. No, it's all right. It's all right. I understand, it was very... sudden. (CHUCKLES) - Yeah! Wow. (SOBS) That means so much to me, (SNIFFS) cos it's just been a missing part of my life the whole time, and hopefully she can help with finding maybe my sister cos I've been told so much about her and... (SNIFFS) I'd like to meet her but one step at a time. - You'll get the chance. You'll get the chance to ask her face to face. - Yeah. - It'll be all good. - Wow. (CHUCKLES) - It's very exciting. It's very exciting, and I know... I know for a fact that she really, really wants to see you, and that's the thing that you really want too. - Yes, I do. Yes, so much. - 'This is really big news for Viktoria, and she can't wait to share it with two special people.' WHISPERS: Pick up. Pick up. (PHONE CHIMES) - That's her. - SHIRLEY OVER PHONE: Hello, Vika. - Oh, hi, Mum. (LAUGHS) I've got some good news, Mum. They found my birth mum. - Oh my goodness me! - Is Dad there? - Yeah, he's really here! - (CHUCKLES) I'm going to Russia in three days. - You're going to Russia in three days?! - (LAUGHS) - STEPHEN OVER PHONE: Oh, wow! Vika, that's such an unreal feeling, isn't it? - I don't know what to feel. (LAUGHS) I just feel like things are falling into place finally. Yeah, it's something I can't really explain too well. (POIGNANT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) - 'I know better than most just how nerve-wracking this journey can be.' - I'm just so thankful that she wants to actually meet me. Like I said earlier, I just felt like that rejection` - It's the fear, isn't it? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Just not being, you know, wanted in some sort of way. - I know a lot of people that... We all come out of the orphanage at a young age and we always fear, 'Oh, OK, maybe there's no point us trying to find our birth parents 'because they put us there in the first place,' but you never know what their circumstance was too all those years ago. You just don't know. The big thing is she really wants to see you. - (SNIFFS) Oh. - She really wants to see you. - (SNIFFS, SOBS) I don't know why she hasn't reached out. - Can be hard for her if she doesn't... She probably doesn't know how to reach out to you. It's been so long. - But I was in an orphanage for five years, and it's... - I know. Yeah. - TEARFULLY: When I was in my teenage years, I thought about it a lot. And I did have a wee bit of anger, but... nothing like... that I'm going to hate her or anything like that. I just was angry that I didn't understand why it happened. - But we should look now at you growing that contact with her, and that's how things move forward and things... You can grow a relationship with her. - Yeah. - In three days, Viktoria will return to the Russia she has not seen since she was 5 years old. She needs to solve the mysteries of her past and questions she has of her own identity. I just hope when the time comes, she will get the answers she wants. I just delivered Russian adoptee Viktoria Rundle some of the biggest news of her life. So, we've made contact with your birth mother. - (SOBS) That's so cool! Three days ago, I was working on the farm in Gore, and now we're going to Russia! - It's a journey of over 16,000km. After 35 hours of solid travel, we finally arrive in Arkhangelsk ` a small city in the north of Russia that lies on the banks of the Dvina River. (PENSIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC) It's winter here and freezing cold, with short days and temperatures as low as minus-15 degrees. It's also the place where I was born. I first came back here eight years ago to meet my own birth family. So this trip has special meaning for me. It's exciting to be back. First impressions? - Yeah, it's very colourful. - It is nice, eh? - Yeah. - It's different than Gore? (BOTH LAUGH) - Such a long trip. So tiring and exhausting. At the same time, you're like, 'Whoo-hoo. Finally made it. We're here.' (LAUGHS) - This is quite nice. - It's not what I was expecting at all. It's completely blown me away. How much snow there is, just the different atmosphere of the place. Just` Everything is just so different. 'Just taking it all in and seeing the people and the town, and people speaking a different language.' You can't just walk by people and go, 'Hey, what's up?' (LAUGHS) So, I mean, I spoke fluently when I was 5, but now it's just like, 'What?' (LAUGHS) - Do you feel like you have some sort of connection here now? - It feels home and it feels natural in a way. - It does feel like home for you? - Yeah, it does, in some strange sort of way. - I always say just take it as it comes. The journey is yours. - Yeah. - And just enjoy it. - Yeah, I am... very enjoying it. (LAUGHS) - That's good. That's good. Viktoria has finally made it to her homeland. - Selfie! 'And tomorrow, we are hoping to visit the orphanage she left when she was five. 'But there's a catch.' The orphanage is actually in the nearby city of Severodvinsk, which is home to Russia's nuclear submarine industry and a sensitive military area. Foreigners are forbidden without a special permit, and they're notoriously difficult to get. We couldn't get an answer on a permit before we left New Zealand, so we've had to take a gamble on this trip. I've learned from my own journey that respect for family is hard wired in the Russian psyche, and now we've heard that the caregivers at the orphanage are keen for Viktoria to visit, which gives me hope that we won't be turned away. But we won't know until the morning if the gamble's paid off. (TENSE STRING MUSIC) After an anxious night, I get the call we've been waiting for. Yep. 'Against all the odds, we have access to Severodvinsk 'and we are on the road and on our way to the orphanage.' It's incredible to have been granted this permission that allows Viktoria to finally reconnect with her past. (MUSIC CONTINUES) I've roped in Anastasia, a family friend, to help as a translator. I know this is a huge step in Viktoria's journey, revisiting the orphanage where she spent three years of her life. - I've been told there's some ladies there that remember me from when I was younger and there and spent a lot of time with, but I don't remember them. Maybe I will when I see them. I'm not sure. Hi! (CHUCKLES) (APPLAUSE, CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK) (LAUGHS) So, we arrived at the orphanage, and we walked in and there was a whole group of ladies standing there to greet me. I was like, 'Wow.' (CHUCKLES) I didn't expect so many ladies to be there, but they were so happy to see me, and... (LAUGHS) - They two were working with you when you were here. - Oh, really? - Yes. - Oh my God. - They were taking care of you. Yes. - Wow. The ladies are just so lovely. Tatiana? (LAUGHS) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - She's also a medician. She's a medician, and she also was helping you to recover. - Oh, cos I was sick. - Yeah. - Yeah. Thank you. (CHUCKLES) Natalia, I think her name was? She stood out to me the most. She came up to me and gave me a big hug and 'Vika, Vika!' (LAUGHS) I was just like, 'Ah!' She grabbed my hand and walked me down the corridor, and apparently she use to do that when I was younger too. I don't remember ` I wish I could, but it felt right for some reason, in a strange way. (LAUGHS) Wow. 'Not much memory, but good memories from what I do remember, yeah.' - Some of the beds that you` - I remember` I remember sleeping in a room together. Yeah, I remember this room. Yeah. 'Yeah. So they took us into where the children sleep,' and there were beds all together there still, so they obviously still sleep together. - You can go anywhere you want. Just look and touch something maybe. - Look and touch! - Yes! Look and touch. - Oh my God. - That's the room you were sleeping in. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - It's just putting the pieces back together for me and just slowly understanding everything, and... Yeah, it's good. (CHUCKLES) It feels right. It feels right. - I think it's a big thing to revisit these people that looked after you for the first five years before you were adopted. - Yeah, they did. Yeah. And the lady said that I was very sick, so she looked after me. - That's what they do. Yeah. - Yeah. - They make sure that you're OK and then they give you a headstart in your life. - That's amazing. - Yeah. - Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it's just... It` It's so... In my heart, it makes me so happy cause, you know, it's... from being a mother having to give up her child, to... to that, it's... It's just hard to explain. I'm sorry. (CHUCKLES) (REFLECTIVE STRING MUSIC) Tell me about me in the orphanage and anything about it. - Mm-hmm. - I don't know. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - You were a very tender girl. You liked sitting on knees, hugging people and all this stuff. Oh, really? - Yeah. - Wow. - Yeah, and just thank you to you. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - She loved you very much when you were young. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - They wish you really good things. (REFLECTIVE AMBIENT MUSIC) - Wow. It was amazing. I know they were, like, going to be happy to see me, but I didn't know how happy. But yeah, it turned out great. Especially Natalia, I think that is what her name was. Yeah. - So Natalia, I noticed that she was holding your hand. - Yeah! (CHUCKLES) Cos when I was younger, I was sick, and she led me down the hall. - Same woman. - Yeah. It just felt like I was five years old again. (LAUGHS) Me personally, I don't remember a hell of a lot from it, but I do remember, yeah, that. It's just amazing. I just` - Incredible. Yeah. - I'm so dumfounded by it. It's like 'Wow.' It's so cool. Yeah. - That's awesome. (PENSIVE PIANO MUSIC) - Today has been huge for Viktoria. She's begun to fill in the blanks in her past, and tomorrow, she'll meet the one person with the answers to all her questions ` her birth mother. - I've been thinking a lot about meeting my birth mother and what it's going to be like and how she's going to feel, and how I'm going to feel, and in that perspective, I wrote down a few questions for myself in my wee note book so that if I do get stuck, I can kind of refer back to it, cos I do have a lot of questions for her. My biggest question would probably be,... 'Why?' I mean, I know things happen for a reason, but I still would like to know why. So many emotions going through me at the moment. (LAUGHS) I'm still really scared of, like` I know she's happy to meet me, but I'm still scared that... we may not connect on the same level that I want to connect with her on. So I am, like, really excited and happy to meet her and everything, but I've still got that edge about it. (CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC) - It's only six days since I was in Gore, giving Viktoria some of the biggest news of her life. So, we've made contact with your birth mother. - (SNIFFS) - Like many adoptees, Viktoria has a lot of questions. - (SOBS) I don't know why she hasn't reached out. TEARFULLY: I've thought about it a lot, and I did have a wee bit of anger. - She's travelled over 16,000km, from New Zealand summer to Russian winter, in search of answers. - I've been thinking a lot about meeting my birth mother and what it's going to be like, how she's going to feel, and how I'm going to feel. I mean, I know things happen for a reason. - This has always been a mystery, really, hasn't it? - But I still would like to know why. (TENSE MUSIC) (BOTH SIGH) So, today is the big day ` the day I have been waiting for for all my life. (CHUCKLES) I'm so... (SIGHS) Oh my goodness me. (CHUCKLES) - (PATS BACK) - Oh, my heart is so fluttering right now. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) - Vika. - (SIGHS) I don't want to look. - Vika, come here. Are you ready? - No. (SNIFFS) 'For a moment, I paused.' (EXCLAIMS) I don't know why I paused. It's just... I was just scared for a moment. I was, yeah, scared. - See that woman on the bench over there? That's your birth mother, OK? She wants to see you. - (SIGHS) My emotions. - I know. I know. - My heart. (CHUCKLES) - It's all yours. OK? - Oh. Whoo-hoo-hoo! - All right. Go, Vika. Go. I cannot believe I'm doing this. - Straight over here. - Where am I going? 'The whole way that I walked down there, I didn't look at her. I looked down.' I probably did that because I was` When I looked at her, I wanted to make that instant connection. (CHUCKLES) I'm already starting to cry. (CHUCKLES) (LAUGHS, SOBS) (EXCLAIMS SOFTLY) (TENDER MUSIC) (SOBS) (BOTH SOB) (LAUGHS) Thank you. 'And when I finally got to hug her and... 'see her, and... (SIGHS)' TEARFULLY: It was amazing. SOFTLY: Sorry. (TENDER MUSIC CONTINUES) (BOTH SOB) TEARFULLY: It felt right. It... Cos... (SIGHS) (BOTH SOB, CHUCKLE) 'Cos I know she felt the same way, and...' It's just completed me. It's just made me whole again. It's... (SOBS) (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) 'I've just had that missing part of my life all my life, and... 'it's come together. It's...' perfect. I don't know how to explain it. (MUSIC CONTINUES) - Amazing. (CHUCKLES) - (BREATHES SHAKILY) - The minute Viktoria and her birth mother looked in each other's eyes, it's just... I can't even explain it. It was beautiful. It was amazing. And seeing that connection right there in front of you, you almost feel like it's changed your life. (MUSIC FADES) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - She don't know what to tell you. - (LAUGHS) I don't know what to say. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - (LAUGHS) I'm speechless. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - She is too. She is just speechless. You are the same. - (LAUGHS) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - It's surreal. She didn't think that it can become like this. - (CHUCKLES) No. (SOBS) I just don't believe it. It's so, so real. I never thought it would happen so, so soon. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - But I'm so happy to meet you. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - It completes me. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - She really thought that you would never forgive her for that, but you've done that. - (SNIFFS) (SOBS SOFTLY) When I was hugging her, she said to me that... she felt like that I'd never forgive her for what happened, and... I... (BREATHES SHAKILY) TEARFULLY: I just wanted to understand, and... know what happened. (SOBS) I'm sorry. (SNIFFS, BREATHES SHAKILY) (SIGHS) - In the city of Arkhangelsk, in Northern Russia, Viktoria has just met her birth mother for the first time since she was given up to an orphanage at 2 years old. - (SOBS) TEARFULLY: It's just completed me. It's just made me whole again. (BOTH SOB, CHUCKLE) It was amazing. - It's been a huge day so far for Viktoria, and everyone is understandably very emotional. And while she is enjoying her birth mother just being there, she still has a lot of questions. - I've met Mum and gave her a hug and things like that, and then we went back to the hotel and we just sat down and talked. I don't know where to start (LAUGHS) She put me into an orphanage, how old I was when I went into the orphanage. What was it like? What happened? Why? Just everything around that. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Uh huh. She told me her story before, so she just asked me to translate it. You were put in an orphanage when you were 2. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) (SOMBRE MUSIC) - The government take the rights for this child. So she doesn't` she didn't have rights for you. - Ah, OK. - In 1994, Viktoria's mum was 25 and struggling after the break-up of her marriage. She didn't have the resources to give her sickly infant the medical care she needed. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - It was really difficult at that time just to raise a child with so many illnesses, so she was strongly advised to put the child to the orphanage, just for you to proper medical help and all that stuff. - Yeah, I'm very thankful for that, now that I know. My mother couldn't look after me cos I was sick, and so she gave me a second chance at life. That's the way I see it. I've always known that I have a sister. I don't` I don't know anything about her. I don't know how old she was or anything. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - Mm. Your sister is dead for 15 years already. Yes. - SOFTLY: Why? - And he put the gun to her head and made it shoot. Yes. Yes, it was kind of an awful story. So she's not alive now. - Wow. - Mm. - That's so hard to process. (SIGHS SOFTLY) - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - So you're the only` her only child. You're the only one now. - SOFTLY: Wow. - She has no more children. - No more children. - No more children now. - She told me that my sister had... had an accident and she's no longer here, and that she... she got very depressed and she was alone for so long, and now that I'm here, she feels like she's not alone anymore. (HOPEFUL PIANO MUSIC) - Viktoria's emotions have been through the wringer this morning, but the day's not over yet. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - Your aunt and your cousins ` two cousins ` live here in Arkhangelsk. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - And she knows about you ` your aunt. - About me? - Yes! (LAUGHS) - (LAUGHS) Wow. Oh my God. - (SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN) - You have many relatives here, and Grandpa. (POIGNANT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) - Gosh. (LAUGHS) I started crying and I gave her a hug, and gave I gave Dedushka a hug. - So beautiful! - And he put me on his knee, and he was so happy, and I was happy, and it was just so magical, like, just being there with them and... feeling like a family. It was amazing. (SOBS) - SHIRLEY: We're really pleased that Vika got to go to Russia and meet her birth mother. (BOTH SNIFFLE) It was a really great opportunity, and we're just so pleased for her. Couldn't be happier. - Setting out on a quest like this, you have to be prepared for anything. There are always hurdles. It's always a rollercoaster of emotions. - It's something that I think she'll get a lot from going forward, and yeah, it's been exciting to see her go on that journey. - Viktoria discovered some devastating news about her sister. - He put the gun to her head and made it shoot. Yes. - But at least she now has closure on that chapter of her life. - I think she's really sort of been, particularly in the last few years, struggling with where she's come from and what she's about, and I think this will answer a lot of questions for her, and we're really, really thrilled for her. - I'm a different person, I feel, in a way. I'll talk to Mama and just keep in contact with her and send lots of photos of the farm, and... yeah, just share my life with them now and grow a strong connection with her. I plan to come back at some stage. I haven't decided when, but I will plan it and save up money, and I'm so happy. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. - You know, it's a big thing for her to be able to connect back with her birth mother, and I think she'll get a lot from that. - Ooh. (CHUCKLES) - I really hope that she can go back again and meet up with her again sometime. - (LAUGHS) - It's funny to just look and hear you. - We've come to the end of our journey with Viktoria, but hers is just beginning. (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC FADES) - So since going to Russia and meeting my birth mum, we talk every day, and we've grown a stronger connection with each other. I send her photos every day and she sends me photos every day. And I am learning to speak Russian, so when I go back at the end of the year, hopefully I can speak to her a bit more in Russian. And, yeah, I'm just so thankful and happy that I've had this experience, and I can't wait to go back and see her. (LAUGHS, SIGHS) - Next week, I take LA-based model Daria back to her birthplace in St Petersburg. - What if I have birth family here and they don't even know I'm here? - 20 years on, memories are still raw. - (SNIFFS) That's where I left! That's where I left my birth father. That's what matters. That's what matters. - And the search for long-lost family. - I don't think I've ever been that nervous in my entire life. - Come here! - (LAUGHS)