Russian trans man who fled to Minnesota reunited, remarried to his husband
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Wedding bells were ringing last week in Minneapolis for Erik and Ivan Beda. The couple remarried at The Bell of Two Friends sculpture at Nicollet Island on Tuesday. It marked the end of an eventful Pride month for the two.
On June 1, just minutes after midnight, Ivan Beda landed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Ivan Beda walked through the doors into baggage claim and Erik Beda came running for an embrace, which lasted two minutes. They had been separated for two-and-a-half months after Ivan Beda was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while Erik Beda was released. The couple was forced by the Russian government to get a divorce in 2023 when Erik physically transitioned from female to male. So, when they got to the U.S.-Mexico border in March, they were processed as individual cases.
After they were reunited, their next step was getting remarried. Before even leaving the airport, Erik and Ivan were already planning their nuptials, with a goal of getting legally married again before Twin Cities Pride at the end of June.
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Generosity from strangers
A group of airport volunteers who helped Erik Beda when he landed alone at MSP airport back in March came to welcome Ivan, with mini Minnesota flags in hand.
“I’ve never had this many people greet me at the airport,” Ivan Beda exclaimed.
John Pundsack was one of those gathered to greet Ivan Beda. Pundsack and his husband Joe Briol were Erik Beda’s first lifeline.
“I think as much as we were overwhelmed with learning the immigration process, the shelter, food, everything. We are also overwhelmed with the generosity,” said Pundsack.
Pundsack and Briol took Erik Beda under their wing, helping him find a place to stay and buying clothing. But they didn’t do it alone. Friends and neighbors stepped in where they could. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s office was in contact with ICE to help secure Ivan Beda’s release.
OutFront Minnesota paid for housing and groceries for Erik Beda. And hundreds of people raised more than $17,000 in a GoFundMe. On Monday, the Bedas moved into housing provided by a local church until they get a work permit.
“We had no connection with these two individuals,” Briol said when explaining why he and his husband stepped up to help. “I always thought this is an opportunity to do something good, and in a world where there’s lots of not good things happening, it just it felt like this was a rallying point for myself, and it turns out a whole lot of other people too.”
A ‘new family’
Erik Beda was living in a Minneapolis homeless shelter when he first arrived. Every day to pass the time, he would walk to the Bell of Two Friends sculpture on Nicollet Island, a place that Erik Beda said came to hold a lot of meaning for him.
“I made a wish that Ivan would be here with me,” Erik Beda said in Russian, “I put three pinecones under this arch and rang the bell.”
And in front of the sculpture is where they took each other’s hands in marriage again.
About 20 people gathered for the small ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. They were people who had known Erik Beda for just a few months and just recently met Ivan Beda.
The couple exchanged rings, silver wedding bands they bought a few days before the wedding. It marked one of the first times they’ve worn rings in public. The Bedas, however, chose to skip saying vows.
“Something that Erik said when we first met really resonated with me,” said officiant Jeremy Stomberg during the ceremony, “He said, ‘What can we say that we haven’t already said in the years we’ve been together?’”
Erik and Ivan Beda first got married in Russia in 2006, just one year after they first met in college.
“Since we first met, we always were like a family. I just cannot imagine my life without this person. He is my family. He’s the closest person I ever have, and I probably ever will have,” said Ivan Beda.
The short ceremony was sealed with a kiss and a ring of the sculpture’s bell.
“I don’t know what else to say. I have no words. I’m happy. It finally happened, we’re together and we’re here,” said Erik Beda.
When asked if there was anyone back in Russia they wish were at the wedding, both said no, but that they were grateful to have “new family.”
“We started June 1 with Ivan arriving in Minnesota, which we thought perfect. Pride month. He’s here. We’re united,” said Pundsack at the wedding. “And now here we are, the week of Pride coming up and they get married. It’s like everything we wanted all coming together. And that’s what Pride is, you know. Love wins.”
Erik and Ivan Beda, Pundsack and Briol all celebrated at Twin Cities Pride on Saturday and Sunday. It was the Bedas’ first-ever Pride event and one of the first times in their lives that they could publicly share their love freely and without fear.