INFO-RUSS archive, 1 Jul. 1995-current

INFO-RUSS archive, 1 Jul. 1995-current
This is INFO-RUSS archive, 1 Jul. 1995-current

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From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sun Jul 2 23:16:47 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from psuvm.psu.edu by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA01336; Sun, 2 Jul 95 23:16:46 -0400 Message-Id: <9507030316.AA01336@smarty.ece.jhu.edu> Received: from PSUVM.PSU.EDU by PSUVM.PSU.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 6347; Sun, 02 Jul 95 23:16:07 EDT Received: from PSUVM.PSU.EDU (NJE origin BAV2@PSUVM) by PSUVM.PSU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with RFC822 id 0803; Sun, 2 Jul 1995 23:16:07 -0400 Date: Sun, 2 Jul 95 23:16 EDT From: "Boris A. Veytsman" Subject: INFO-RUSS: traveling to Tbilisi To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: O My friend (an American) is going to visit Tbilisi this summer. He would appreciate any info about the current situation there as well as an advice for a foreigner about the appropriate behavior and precautions. Please reply directly to me, BAV2@PSUVM.PSU.EDU Thanks -Boris From TJ100@aol.com Sun Jul 2 14:57 EDT 1995 Received: from emout04.mail.aol.com by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA00877; Sun, 2 Jul 95 14:57:19 -0400 Received: by emout04.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA278661245; Sun, 2 Jul 1995 14:54:05 -0400 Date: Sun, 2 Jul 1995 14:54:05 -0400 From: TJ100@aol.com To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Russian shotgun Status: Or Dear info-russ subscribers, I hope you can help me. I own a Russian made over & under 12 ga. shotgun that I use for hunting. The shotgun needs a new wood stock and I can't find a dealer in the USA. I'm hoping to find the phone number or address to the "BAIKAL" of the U.S.S.R the Shotguns Maker so I can order a new wood stock. Thanks in advance Todd J. Johnson TJ100@aol.com From vladik@cs.utep.edu Fri Jul 7 19:13 EDT 1995 Received: from cs.utep.edu by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA15223; Fri, 7 Jul 95 19:13:01 -0400 Received: from earth.cs.utep.edu ([129.108.5.14]) by cs.utep.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA07879; Fri, 7 Jul 95 17:12:07 MDT Date: Fri, 7 Jul 95 17:12:07 MDT From: vladik@cs.utep.edu (Vladik Kreinovich) Message-Id: <9507072312.AA07879@cs.utep.edu> To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: new immigration policy in Canada Status: O A professor of our Department, Chitta Baral, originally from the State of Orissa, India, has recently been to a meeting of US people originating from that state, and he brought the following news: Canada is now encouraging immigration of professionals. They have a program under which applicants's abilities are estimayed (age, education, work experience, knowledge of English, etc), and if the total number of points exceeds a certain level, Canadian government helps to come and find a job. The only downside is that the application must be accompanied by a processing fee of about $1000, so if an invited person does not have that money, it is mostly for inviting close relatives or close friends of those people who are already in the West. He advised me to advertise this info to Russian-speaking people. The newsgroup misc.immigration.canada has the most info Some info can be found in http://www.ingenia.com/cicnet/ There are Canadian immigration officials who take questions electronically. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Tue Jul 4 22:16:31 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from mail06.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA17520; Tue, 4 Jul 95 22:16:29 -0400 Received: by mail06.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA057550588; Tue, 4 Jul 1995 22:16:28 -0400 Date: Tue, 4 Jul 1995 22:16:28 -0400 From: EShindelma@aol.com Message-Id: <950704221627_107943958@aol.com> To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Need travel advice Status: O I am an amateur genealogist with Russian ancestry anticipating a trip to Russia and the Ukraine next year. In order to personalize my trip to include small towns, I would be interested in hiring someone by day to escort myself and family, translate and arrange for accomodations and travel within Russia and the Ukraine for 10-13 days. 1)Can anyone make a Russian/Ukrainian travel consultant reccomendation with references? What is the going rate? 2)Is there a specific time of year when US-St.Petersburg or Moscow or Kiev flights are most economical? With which airlines? 3)Are there any bilingual archival researchers with references out there who may be interested in researching documents with me in person when in Moscow, Kiev and Zhitomir? I would appreciate any advice or personal experience that you may have. Please email me (preferably in English) directly at: eshindelma@aol.com Thank you. Spacebo. From @UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU:owner-omri-l@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU Mon Jul 10 09:19 EDT 1995 Received: from ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA08674; Mon, 10 Jul 95 09:19:39 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 15:03:39 +0200 From: OMRI Publications Subject: INFO-RUSS: OMRI Daily Digest I, No. 132, 10 Jul 95 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: O --------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpts from OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 132, 10 July 1995 AEK --------------------------------------------------------------------- DESPITE KILLINGS, GROZNY TALKS CONTINUE. Talks between Russian and Chechen negotiators continued over the weekend, despite being interrupted by an attack on a farm outside Grozny, international and Russian agencies reported. Six Chechen civilians were killed in the attack on 7 July, reportedly carried out by gunmen wearing Russian military uniforms, that led Chechen delegates to walk out of the talks. However, they returned later and the two delegations issued a statement announcing a joint investigation into the killings and declaring that "the negotiations will continue and peace will come to Chechnya." Russian military sources denied responsibility for the attack. Resuming discussions on 8 July, negotiators reached agreement on a preliminary political accord outlining the conditions for holding and monitoring elections in the republic this December. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc. SIBERIAN PRISONERS EAT CELL-MATE. Two prisoners in Siberia murdered their cell-mate and ate his internal organs "to add spice to their life," Russian and Western agencies reported on 7 July. The two inmates, aged 23 and 25, strangled their victim, cut out his innards, and cooked them over a burning blanket. The two men, whose trial begins on 10 July, could be executed if found guilty. -- Penny Morvant, OMRI, Inc. SUICIDE A PROBLEM IN MILITARY. The Russian army has an "acute" suicide problem, Colonel Pavel Demidenko told Interfax on 9 July. Demidenko, who heads the military procurator's criminal investigation department, reported that 423 Russian military personnel had committed suicide in 1994--many driven to it because of hazing, or "dedovshichina" by older soldiers. He said another 2,500 military personnel had died last year as the result of "criminal incidents." -- Doug Clarke, OMRI, Inc. AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA SIGN ACCORD. On 7 July Azerbaijan and Georgia signed an accord to export crude oil from Azerbaijan to world markets through Georgian territory, AFP reported citing Interfax. Under the agreement signed by Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbassov and his Georgian counterpart, Zurab Kervalishvili, feasibility studies will be carried out by the end of August on the delivery of the oil to the ports of Poti and Batumi. Though the route has not been finalized the accord provides for the delivery of 4 million metric tons of oil over the first 30 months of operations. -- Lowell Bezanis, OMRI, Inc. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Wed Jul 5 02:14:43 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from emout04.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA23723; Wed, 5 Jul 95 02:14:42 -0400 Date: Wed, 5 Jul 1995 02:11:26 -0400 From: VipEC@aol.com To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Great trip to Siberia Status: O To all, In November 1994, I approached this group about an upcoming trip I was going to take to Novosibirsk Siberia with my church from Birmingham Alabama. This group was great and I received many helpful suggestions, tips and contacts over the months until I left on June 2. I returned June 11 from the trip of a lifetime. I loved Novosibirsk! It was worth the exhausting 28 hour trip and several hours of hassle that Moscow customs and Transaero likes to put us through. I even got to meet in person someone that I had met through a contact on this list. pondering a return trip next summer - I can't wait. Russians in Siberia were so much like us, like people everywhere - they just want to be loved and have a chance to love someone else. Even though very few spoke our language, they stood in large crowds to watch us perform and we spent hours talking with them through our interpreters. Thanks for making this the best list I am on George Mizzell From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Tue Jul 11 22:25:46 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from nrigw1.nri.co.jp by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA12411; Tue, 11 Jul 95 22:25:43 -0400 Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 11:25:22 +0900 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu From: t1-hanada@nri.co.jp (tomoko hanada) Subject: INFO-RUSS: Stay in Hostels in Russia Status: O Dear friends, I'm planning to visit Moscow/St.Petersburg this August and thinking of staying in youth hostels there. I've got to know these hostels through Internet, their names are "Travelers' Guest House" in Moscow and "St.Petersburg Int'l Hostel." As they claim, they provide verious kinds of services including visa support. The prices also sound reasonable enough. Still, I want to be sure about their credibility so as to avoid any kind of troubles during and after the stay there. If anyone knows about these hostels, please let me know about them. I would appreciate if you inform your experience at these hostels or the troubles you met, etc. Also, if someone has an experience of "homestay" in St.Petersburg which is provided only for Moscow Travelers' Guest House guests, please let me know about it, too. Please send an E-mail directly to me. Thank you in advance. T.Hanada (E-mail address: t1-hanada@nri.co.jp) From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Fri Jul 14 23:59:17 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from CATTELL20.PSYCH.UPENN.EDU by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA06362; Fri, 14 Jul 95 23:59:15 -0400 Received: (from arkady@localhost) by cattell20.psych.upenn.edu (8.6.11/SAS 8.03) id XAA17560 for info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu; Fri, 14 Jul 1995 23:57:40 -0400 From: arkady@cattell.psych.upenn.edu (Arkady Lyubarsky) Posted-Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 23:57:40 -0400 Message-Id: <199507150357.XAA17560@cattell20.psych.upenn.edu> Subject: INFO-RUSS: RussianBankInfoWanted To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 23:57:40 -0400 (EDT) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23-upenn2.9] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 323 Status: O Dear netters, i was told that inkombank has branches in the us and that i can deposit money on my or somebody else's account in the usa and withdraw it in moscow. is it the truth or a fairy tale? any info including other banks, telephone ## and addresses would be appreciated. thanks, arkady@cattell.psych.upenn.edu From DavidWCJR@aol.com Fri Jul 14 08:37 EDT 1995 Received: from mail06.mail.aol.com by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA10377; Fri, 14 Jul 1995 14:15:32 +0200 Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 14:15:32 +0200 From: DavidWCJR@aol.com (David Waksberg) To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: UCSJ's "Monitor" on Fascism in Russia Status: Or ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dear IR-folks, A lot of you (not all of you, I know, I know:-) are interested in human rights in ex-USSR, fascism, antisemitism, etc. issues. I am taking advantage of low summer traffic to have you introduced to the "Monitor", a watch-dog newsletter on the subject, published by UCSJ (Union of Councils for Soviet Jews; Washington, DC) & Intern. Bureaus on Human Rights (Moscow, St. Peter., Kiev, Almaty, and Bishkek). (Note please, that the "Monitor" in question is not the "Monitor" started recently by the Jamestown Foundation with Paul Goble being the Editor-In-Chief. The UCSJ's "Monitor" started about 4 years ago. Since they have never copirighted their name, another magazine used it, appartently due to somebody's oversight...) You may recall -- several months ago it was UCSJ who had posted an appeal on behalf of a prisoner in Tashkent -- Iosif Koinov, a 76 year old Bukharan Jew. He had been arrested last fall on the trumped up charge of murder of a 17 year old Uzbek. The case coincided with the distribution of a vile anti-Semitic tract in Uzbekistan that suggested Jewish murder/blood rituals. The judge asked in open court about who Jews kill for their holidays ("Uzbeks kill sheep, I have heard that Jews kill people..."). The UCSJ posted an appeal on numerous lists (including INFO-RUSS). As a result, Uzbek Ambassador and Minister of Justice received about 25,000 letters and telegrams. Koinov was released from jail and finally, about 2 weeks ago, all charges were dismissed. Those of you who wish to learn more about either UCSJ's "Monitor" or Union of Councils or Intern. Bureaus on Human Rights, may get in touch with David Waksberg , who is its Editor-In-Chief, the originator of the main body of this posting, and your fellow info-russ subscriber in good standing. As a sample of their material, enclosed below are two pieces from UCSJ's "Monitor" (slightly shortened) on fascist trends in Russia: (i) Stonov's political overview and (ii) Lieberman's witness' report of bizarre Duma Hearing on Fascism. They appeared in April issue, and may not reflect on the most recent developments, but give pretty comprehensive picture anyway. BTW, their most recent issue just got out a couple weeks ago. --Alex Kaplan, INFO-RUSS owner/coordinator ---------------------------------------------------------------- Russia: Lurching Toward Fascism By Leonid Stonov [Leonid Stonov is international director of the Union of Councils Human Rights Bureaus in the former Soviet Union, and president of the American Association of Russian Jews] [After reviewing the economical situation in Russia and drastic increase of crime, Stonov continues:] With all this in the background, the extremist nationalists and fascists achieve more success as the recent election campaign showed in the Mitischi- Khimky region near Moscow and the strong victory of the allies of nationalists Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Alexander Barkashov, and the Communists in the Krasnodar region. As one travels away from Moscow in the Russian provinces, support increases for organizations and parties openly espousing fascist themes, and there are 137 fascist newspapers and magazines published each day in Russia. The situation has become more difficult in the past few months as President Boris Yeltsin and the government of Viktor Chernomirdin have begun to appease the so-called social and national patriots in the following ways: 1) With regard to the "near-abroad" (former Soviet sphere), Russia has taken a more aggressive approach, provoking conflicts in Ossetia and Ingushetia, continuing aggressive policies in Tajikistan, the Pridniestr (northeastern Moldova) and Abkhazia (northwestern Georgia), conducting anti- Azerbaijanian activity around oil drilling projects in the Caspian Sea, supporting para-military Cossack groups not only in Russia but also beyond the borders especially in Kazakhstan. 2) The government has encouraged anti-Western attitudes in society and adopted a renewed assertive stance vis a vis the West with regard to NATO's expansion and peace-keeping efforts in regional conflicts (for example, Karabakh). Underlying this approach toward the West is the assertion of Russia's position as a power and its right to dominate in its own sphere of influence. This renewed assertive posture was presented by President Yeltsin and Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev during the OSCE meetings in Budapest, where the Russian leaders alluded to the humiliation of the Russian people. 3) Tacit approval has been granted to racially-motivated actions of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov who instigated the expulsion from Moscow of thousands of refugees from the Transcaucasus region (only ethnically-different refugees were targeted in the sweeps; thousands of ethnic Russian refugees were left alone). While inter-ethnic relations have been stretched to the limit and anti-Semitism has blossomed, the government has been silent (except when speaking with foreign leaders or journalists), striving not to offend nationalist sensibilities. The situation has worsened recently with the direct military suppression of Chechnya. At first, Russia provided covert support to a Chechen opposition headed by Ruslan Khazbulatov against Chechen leader Dzhokar Dudaev. When the opposition's attempts to seize power in Chechnya failed, the brutal day and night bombardments of Grozny began, followed by the siege and attack of the city. As a result thousands of peaceful citizens as well as soldiers of the Russian army died and many people more were made homeless (24,000 deaths and 400,000 refugees are current estimates). The ironic political result of this war was that the "patriotic camp" -- Zhirinovsky, Barkashov, Konstantinov and Lisenko -- all applauded the president, while the democratic community, including Sergei Kovalyev, Elena Bonner, Yegor Gaidar and virtually every other democratic leader has bitterly opposed Yeltsin's initiative. The Moscow militia decided to relive the "glorious" Brezhnev era and detained and beat participants of a protest against the intervention in Chechnya. The dissidents included such well-known people as Alexander Podrabinek and Alexander Lavout, Valery Novodvorskaya and many others at the presidential administration building. The break between the government and the democrats seems irreparable. "We are ruled by scum, but we are also scum if we allow tem to be our authority," said Russian parliamentarian and human rights commissioner Sergei Kovalyev, formerly Yeltsin's staunch supporter. Former dissident Larissa Bogoraz said that Grozny has become a new symbol in the struggle against fascism, along with Guernica, the Warsaw Ghetto, Stalingrad, and other sites. Meanwhile, Duma Speaker Ivan Rybkin pronounced his own outlook: "We will deal with any territory as with Grozny." Such cruel changes happened not in one day - there were many signs of nationalistic tendencies and totalitarian approaches. But one new -- and at the same time very old -- tendency is again visible: the "law of thieves" is at work, in which nearly everyone is tied together in a blood bond of fear, shame and collusion. The Chechnya adventure has stained the country with lies and hatred. Today it is Chechens. Tomorrow it will be others. But the president and his circle are mistaken to think that the fascists will support him in the future. They seek not Yeltsin, but a leader such as Zhirinovsky, Barkashov, Baburin, or even Rutskoi. The process does not stop halfway. The threat of fascism in Russia was recognizable long before the attack on Grozny. Consequently, many Russian democrats began to create a broad-based grassroots anti-fascist coalition. These efforts have achieved modest success. Last September, I and other UCSJ leaders participated in an organizational meeting for an anti-fascist movement involving leading democratic and human rights leaders. More than 100 key Russian leaders and intellectuals came to express their support. This movement had its organizational formation in December, 1994, in Moscow, and is led by well-known people such as: Marshall Evgeny Shaposhnikov, Duma Deputies Ella Panfilova and Alla Gerber, the writer Alexander Rekemchuk, and many other prominent democratic politicians, activists, and cultural figures. The anti-Fascist coalition took active part on January 20-22, 1995, in Moscow, in the first International Anti-Fascist Forum. On January 27, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army was widely recognized and a special ceremony was organized in Moscow in the memory of 6 million Jews who were destroyed by the Nazis. In April, an international anti-fascist congress is planned, preceding the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the victory over Nazism. The coalition intends to open branches in cities and towns throughout Russia, to monitor and expose fascist activity and to promote democratic values. .................................... Despite all the negative trends, there are signs of hope. Last month, I met with the leaders of Russia's Junior Achievement program, which involves more than 100,000 pupils, 14- 17, all over Russia. This movement has own offices in Vladivostok, Nizhny Novgorog, Krasnoyarsk, etc., pupils study free market applied economy and we want to provide them with lessons on human rights and tolerance. Also we work now with "Young leaders," whose 5000 members participate in the program: "Children are the creators of the 21 century". These children never were members of communist pioneer and comsomol organizations. Russia's best chance against fascism may be in its young people. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hearing on Fascism in Russia's Duma. By Alexander Lieberman IBHR (Feb. 17) On February 14, the State Duma's Committee on Social and Religious Organizations held a hearing on the question of fascism in Russia. Prior to the hearing, which lasted 6 hours, an exhibit of fascist and antisemitic literature was presented in the lobby of the State Duma building. The exhibit provoked a raucous reaction among the communist and nationalist deputies and sympathizers present. Some of them, incensed at the display of antisemitic materials which indicate antisemitic sentiments they deny shouted: "Zionist delirium! Jewish tricks!" Heated debates began in the corridors among the right- wing supporters and the anti-fascists who were also present for the hearing. These quickly degenerated into shouts of: "Kill Yids, save Russia!" Vladimir Zorkal'tsev, Communist Duma deputy, presided. During his long opening remarks, he blamed President Yeltsin's government and the democrats for the difficult situation in the country. Zorkal'tsev suggested that a distinction be made between "healthy nationalism and fascism". Tiunov, a writer from St.-Petersburg, started his speech with a proposal to legitimize the term "demofascism." He claimed that Yeltsin together with Zionists and Americans carries out genocide against Russians. This democratic- Zionist-American conspiracy strives to make Russia a "colony of the world Yid and Mason empire." All mass media, Tiunov asserted, are in the "Zionist hands". Tiunov concluded his remarks to hearty applause. Democratic deputy Alla Gerber (who initiated the idea of the hearing) stated that "deputies very often find leaflets calling to deport Jews." (By coincidence, I was occupying the seat of well-known deputy Sergey Mavrody, currently in prison. Under his table I found the newspaper issued by communists specifically for deputies of the Duma. This newspaper could well have been included among the exhibit of fascist materials in the lobby.) LDPR Deputy Vladimir Ivanov stated that "a fifth column is operating in the country, which did not reach Spain but occupies Russia." Control over mass media, Ivanov cried, is in the hands of people of not native nationality. Ivanov said that it is necessary to introduce a quota system for all institutions. Ivanov and other speakers avoided using the word "Jews," preferring instead well- known euphemisms, such as "not native nationality," "assimilators," and "minority." Again and again, speakers spoke about "demofascists and strangers." About "humiliations of Russians by the West". Yuri Shmidt, the well-known human rights lawyer from St. Petersburg, expressed his outrage that the Duma hearings on fascism had in fact become a forum for nationalism and chauvinism. Zorkal'tsev rebuked Shmidt for diverging from the main theme. Another deputy spoke up, claiming that Jews and Americans had already colonized Russia and were in the process of dividing up the spoils. Jewish leader Mikhail Chlenov (chairman of Vaad) disputed the slander against Jews, stating that he is a Jew and pays taxes on time. "Russia's Jews have the right to live in this country as other nationalities," Chlenov said. Nikolai Lysenko, leader of the Republican party, spoke. Firstly, he suggested to legally prohibit the term "Russian Fascism" and to cancel the article of the Criminal Code on "inciting national conflicts." Moreover, he declared his good attitude to Israel, stating that when all Russian Jews emigrate to Israel (and he will make them do it) so there would be no Jewish problem, there would be no such deputies as Alla Gerber and there would be no problems at all. Lysenko claimed that 200,000 children in Moscow acquired diabetes because of Zionist merchants who delivered Snickers (candy) to Moscow from the U.S. He also stated that "Nationalism is the religious of 21 century." Lysenko, as well as other speakers, mentioned Beitar (Zionist) divisions who are ready at any time to destroy Moscow. This theme was generally discussed during the hearing in spite of information by Chlenov that some years ago there were only ten members of Beitar in Moscow, and seven of them were school-age students. During the break, I was a witness to a real fight when direct nationalistic humiliations such as "Yids" and "Jews," together with other colorful epithets accompanied threats of physical violence right here in the State Duma. One Zhirinovets (follower of Zhirinovsky) told me: "We will soon kill you all." These "discussions" were shown in the TV coverage, along with the "discussion" near the exhibit in the lobby. ......................................... From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Wed Jul 5 13:30:03 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from lightning.synoptics.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA24786; Wed, 5 Jul 95 13:29:59 -0400 Date: Wed, 5 Jul 95 10:28:18 PDT From: Jerry Kaidor To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu, TJ100@aol.com Subject: INFO-RUSS: IZH-Jupiter motorcycle... Status: O > Dear info-russ subscribers, > I hope you can help me. > I own a Russian made shotgun.. *** And after finding this fellow his shotgun stock, I wonder if anybody could find me a windshield for my IZH-Jupiter motorcycle sidecar? - Jerry Kaidor From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Jul 20 09:31:36 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from maxwell.iia2.org by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA21264; Thu, 20 Jul 95 09:31:34 -0400 Received: (from monastl@localhost) by maxwell.iia2.org (8.6.12/8.6.12) id IAA29028 for INFO-RUSS@smarty.ece.jhu.edu; Thu, 20 Jul 1995 08:47:04 -0500 Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 08:47:04 -0500 From: Lenny Monastyrsky Message-Id: <199507201347.IAA29028@maxwell.iia2.org> To: INFO-RUSS@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: (fwd) DESIGN PERSONNEL Status: O OVERSEAS AND US, ENGINEERING DESIGN PERSONNEL Engineering and construction company is seeking Design Engineers to oversee all phases of a construction project from underground work to plant checkout and testing. The project is a hydro-electric project in Armenia. The ideal field candidates will be able to speak Russian and be willing to live near the construction site for a 6 month duration. The candidates must also have proven ability in detail design work and implementation of site schedules within budget, perform material takeoffs, and document drawing revisions, design changes and as-builts. The following positions are available: Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil engineer with Micro Station 5.0, 2D experience . These positions are for this project but we will also be interested in establishing personnel to work on other similar projects located out of our local regional office. We are also looking for similar positions to support the site from our United States office located in West Palm Beach, FL Please forward resumes to Internet: ESI@Gate.Net From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Jul 20 11:21:55 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from CGL.BU.EDU by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA21472; Thu, 20 Jul 95 11:21:53 -0400 Received: by cgl.bu.edu (8.6.10/Spike-2.1) id LAA09731; Thu, 20 Jul 1995 11:21:48 -0400 From: simon1@cgl.bu.edu (Simon Streltsov) Subject: INFO-RUSS: Aeroflot stories (fwd) To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 11:21:48 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: text Status: O [ forwarded with permission of the author, but not BBC (-:] Simcha > From F.Abramovich@Bristol.ac.uk Thu Jul 20 05:00:10 1995 > Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 09:59:12 +0000 > Shalom, > I saw a BBC documentary movie about Aeroflot and thought that you'll probably > enjoy it. > > So, "Aerroflot stories" (in Russian): -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posmoterl ya tut vchera u priyatelya dokumental'nii fil'm pro ... "Aeroflot". Nu da, pro samii natural'nii ~Aeroflot" (proizvodstva BBC). Nu, dogadat'sya ne slojno o chem bil fil'm - rasskazivali o ego mnogochislennih problemah, zadanie businesmeni podelilis' opitom poletov Aeroflotom na vnutrennih liniyah vnutri SNG, geroyami fil'ma bili 3 letchika i stuardessa. Ladno, eto vse ne stol' vajno. No vot 5 epizoda bili "mea ahuz". Zapadnii businesman, kotorii raboatet v Moscow rasskazal 3 epizoda iz svoei praktiki (on vpolne horosho govorit i ponimaet po-russki, poetomu situatsiu otsenival adekvatno): 1)reis Moscow-S. Petersburg. Samolet podletaet k SP, a tot ne prinimaet iz-za plohih meteouslovii. Samolet povarachivaet obratno na Moscow. Gde-to po-seredine puti, SP vdrug dal "dobro". Stuardessa vhodit v salon i govorit, chto seichas budet provoditsya ... opros (!!! - vot ona, demokratiya-to!), kuda hochet letet' bol'shinstvo. Kto hochet letet' v SP, proshu podnyat' ruki. Tak, kto za Moscow? Chto j, bol'shinstvom golosov letim v SP, nadeus', chto goruchego hvatit... 2)etot businesman letit so svoei jenoi kakim-to vnutrennim reisom Aeroflota. Vhodyat v samolet, sadyatsya na svoi mesta. Tut okazivaetsya, chto u kresla jeni net remnei bezopasnosti. Nu, jena ni v kakuu, tak oni menyaustya mestami. Jena uspokaivaetsya, samolet razbegaetsya, vzletaet... Tut kreslo jeni vdrug nachinaet ehat' nazad - okazivaetsya, ono ne bilo privincheno k polu... 3)Stuardesa razdaet vodu v platmassovih stakanchikah. Tut etot busineman vidit na stakanchike kakie-to strannie sledi - to li zubov, to li eshe chego-to. Razgadka nastupaet ochen' bistro, kogda stuardessa prosit vseh vernut' ei stakanchiki posle pit'ya. Eto ob'yavlenie posle pereadetsya eshe neskol'ko raz po reproduktoru, a pered posadkoi soobashaut, chto vot, mol, eshe 3 stakanchikov ne hvataet, ochen' prosim sdat' obratno. Popravka: "plastmassovie" stakanchiki - imelos' vvidu odnorazovie, "plastikovie"(?) 4)Stali govorit' o tom, chto, mol, konkurentsia i vse takoe, vot i Aeroflot na MEJDUNARODNIH reisah stal starat'sya bit' luchshe, daje kino stali pokazivat' vo vremya poleta. Nu, vot, odin businesman i rasskazivaet: Lechu ya znachit resiom Aeroflota New York - Moscow. Vzlet v 2 chasa nochi. Tol'ko vzleteli, vse, estestvenno zavalilis' spat', v illuminatore temno, svet v salone toje priglushenii, horosho... Vdrug.. yarkii svet v salone, oglushitel'naya music, golosa... Chto sluchilos'?! Eto nachinaut pokazivat' fil'm! Oh, my G-d, it's 2 in the morning! (spravka - vo vseh prilichnih kompaniyah tebe daut naushniki. Hochesh' smotert' fil'm - nadevai naushniki i smotri, ne hochesh' - spi sebe na zdotov'e, da i svet yarkii nikto ne zajigaet) Nu, delat' nechego, spat' uje nel'zya. Osolovevshie passajiri tupo smotryat na ekran, kluya nosom, jdut, kogda etot fil'm uje konchitsya. Konchilsya... Vse opyat' sasipaut. 5.00.. Vdrug menya kto-to tryaset. Otkrivau glaza - stuard: "Dinner, sir!"... "But i don't want dinner now! It's 5.00 am... I want to sleep, please..." "You have to, sir! We, Aeroflot, are improving! You have to eat your dinner!" 5)Rasskaziavet uje izvestnii nam po predidushim istoriyam russkogovoryashii angliiskii businesman. Aeroport Vnukovo. Jdem nachalo posadki. Vse passajiri uje v sbore, a posadka pochemu-to zaderjivaetsya. Vdrug vhodit v zal letchik s kakoi-to edtal'u v rukah i govorit: "Znachit tak, u nas problema s detal'u, zapasnaya est' na aerodrome, no mi ne Aeroflot (teper' tam desyatki aviakompanii, uje v nih i ne razberesh'sya), a Vnukovo prinadlejit Aeroflotu, poetomu oni davat' nam ee ne hotyat, no predlagaut kupit'. Bez nee letet' nel'zya, poetomu pridetsya vsem skinutsya... Nu, ya dal 50$, cherez nekotoroe vremya poletetli... From JWWolfe@aol.com Thu Jul 20 13:20:03 1995 Received: from mail04.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA21665; Thu, 20 Jul 95 13:20:03 -0400 Received: by mail04.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA045990800; Thu, 20 Jul 1995 13:20:01 -0400 Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 13:20:01 -0400 From: JWWolfe@aol.com Message-Id: <950720131952_119101667@aol.com> To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Call for CV's Status: O We are seeking consultants and experts in Russian enterprise development, privatization and business for short- and long-term assignments in Russia and the FSU. Language skills a plus; minimum 5 years experience. We are a leading contractor to USAID, the World Bank and related organizations on private enterprise development. Please forward your cv to: New Venture Development Corporation Box 2311 Leesburg, VA 22075 From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Jul 20 20:26:24 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from mail02.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA00359; Thu, 20 Jul 95 20:26:22 -0400 Received: by mail02.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.16/16.2) id AA050696381; Thu, 20 Jul 1995 20:26:21 -0400 Date: Thu, 20 Jul 1995 20:26:21 -0400 From: EGroy@aol.com Message-Id: <950720202619_119403402@aol.com> To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Copy of Diploma retrieval Status: O Dear friends, I need to get a copy of my Diploma from my college in Kazan to continue my education in the US. I have nobody there and Russian Embassy was most unhelpful so far. If anyone knows the way to do it - either thru company/other means, or has any advice, please respond. Thanks ! Eugene From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Tue Jul 25 03:59:12 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from mail06.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA09654; Tue, 25 Jul 95 03:59:11 -0400 Received: by mail06.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA098639149; Tue, 25 Jul 1995 03:59:09 -0400 Date: Tue, 25 Jul 1995 03:59:09 -0400 From: SashaGuez@aol.com To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Need messenger Status: O Dear friends I have to pass an important document to my wife that came to visit St.Petersburg. If somebody is going there within this week, please let me know. Thanx, Sasha Chicago;312-764-6760 eve;708-637-3238 day From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Mon Jul 24 00:22:01 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from arl-img-2.compuserve.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA01190; Mon, 24 Jul 95 00:21:58 -0400 Received: by arl-img-2.compuserve.com (8.6.10/5.950515) id AAA20737; Mon, 24 Jul 1995 00:21:55 -0400 Date: 24 Jul 95 00:18:46 EDT From: Yuri Nazarov <73132.2274@compuserve.com> To: INFO-RUSS Subject: INFO-RUSS: Responding to inquiries Status: O THIS POSTING WAS WITHROWN ON REQUEST OF ITS ORIGINATOR From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Fri Jul 21 16:55:23 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from arl-img-2.compuserve.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA08494; Fri, 21 Jul 95 16:55:20 -0400 Received: by arl-img-2.compuserve.com (8.6.10/5.950515) id QAA23685; Fri, 21 Jul 1995 16:55:19 -0400 Date: 21 Jul 95 16:51:42 EDT From: savant <74710.3567@compuserve.com> To: INFO-RUSS@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Job offer Status: O Physical Optics has several open positions. 1. Integrated Optics Engineer, can be Ph.D 2. Production division manager, NTSC, Audio, WDM, fiber optics link. Physical Optics Corporation (POC) was founded in 1984, has 100 of employee, 30 with a Ph.D. degrees. POC is looking for a person who can do research and knows the product design. Also requirements include the knowledge of TV and networks protocols (ETHERNET, E1/T1, FDDI). POC is agressive fast growing company. POC employed 6 Russian Ph.D. Salary is around $40.000. Vladimir Katsman Send Resume through INTERNET, Attn: Dr. Katsman P.S. We are also in touch with several US companies that are interested in employing Russian experts. The area of interest is IR high power lasers and IR coating. From @UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU:owner-omri-l@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU Wed Jul 26 10:51 EDT 1995 Received: from ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA20349; Wed, 26 Jul 95 10:51:11 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 26 Jul 1995 14:51:28 +0200 Sender: Open Media Research Institute Daily Digest From: OMRI Publications Subject: INFO-RUSS: OMRI Daily Digest I, No. 142-4, 24-26 Jul 95 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: O ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpts from OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 142-144, 24-26 July 1995 AEK ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MOSCOW REFUGEES RESETTLED. Moscow authorities have decided to move all refugees who now live in various Moscow hotels and hostels to a special refugee center in the Solntsevo municipal district, even though residents consider the region to be ecologically dangerous because of nearby industry, Moskovskii komsomolets reported on 22 July. On 21 July, Rossiiskaya gazeta reported that there are currently 500,000 to 1 million immigrants in the country with no clear legal status. The paper laid the blame for the situation on liberal entrance regulations. -- Alaina Lemon, OMRI, Inc. NOT ENOUGH RATIONS FOR RUSSIAN SOLDIERS. The Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax on 21 July that it does not have enough money to feed the troops. The minister has asked for extra funds (the equivalent of $555 to $666 million). In the meantime, soldiers in some areas are eating emergency rations usually saved for war time or other crises. The current budget allocates only 1,721 billion rubles ($380 million) for food, which is only enough for 25% of the soldiers' meals. Bread factories, among other food producers, have stopped delivering to the army garrisons, which are unable to pay for the food, Krasnaya zvezda reported on 21 July. -- Alaina Lemon, OMRI, Inc. SCIENTISTS STAGE ZOO SIT-IN. Three scientists, who were formerly employed at the Moscow Institute of Scientific Research, sat in cages at the Moscow zoo on 23 July, Russian and Western agencies reported. The scientists said they wanted to show moral support for their colleagues who work in research institutes that are going to be closed down because of a lack of subsidies. The scientists, Yevgenii Spirodonov, Vladislav Perlin, and Viktor Pekin, said they were not protesting but rather trying to underline their belief that Russian scholars should be less dependent on the state. -- Alaina Lemon, OMRI, Inc. KAZAKHSTAN LIMITS IMMIGRATION. Kazakhstan has placed a limit on the number of immigrants it will accept this year, Radio Rossii reported on 20 July. The government announced it will take 5,000 families this year because of problems in resettling those Kazakhs currently living abroad who would like to move to the country. The cabinet has set aside 250 million tenge (about $4 million) for the repatriation process. -- Bruce Pannier, OMRI, Inc. BARSUKOV TO HEAD FSB AFTER ALL. After his press secretary denied earlier rumors about the appointment, Yeltsin named Col. Gen. Mikhail Barsukov to the post of Federal Security Service (FSB) director on 24 July, Russian and Western media reported. Until now, Barsukov has been in charge of Kremlin security and is a close friend of the head of the presidential security service, Aleksandr Korzhakov. Izvestiya viewed the appointment negatively, reporting that Barsukov's main qualifications are his participation in Yeltsin's fishing and hunting trips. WORST GRAIN HARVEST IN TWO DECADES EXPECTED THIS YEAR. Russian farmers are expecting the country's worst grain harvest in 20 years following a severe drought that has plagued farmlands in southern Russia, according to Agriculture Minister Aleksandr Zaveryukha, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 July. The minister said the harvest is likely to be 75-78 million metric tons, or about 4%-8% less than last year's harvest of 81.3 million metric tons. Russia will produce enough grain for its own use, but it will no longer be able to provide former Soviet republics with cheap grain. Despite the expected poor harvest, the state does not plan to import foreign grain. CHECHEN WAR USING UP ALL RUSSIAN ROCKET AMMO. The Russian armed forces are in danger of using up all the ammunition for their rapid fire rocket-propelled "Grad" multiple-launch rocket systems, NTV reported on 24 July. Officials at Tula's "Splav" enterprise, where the Grad was built, said that not a single shell has been produced in the past five years. Gennadii Denezhkin, Splav's chief designer, said the company "now basically lives on trading its arms abroad and conversion. . . . There are no new orders from the Russian Defense Ministry." He added that new weapons projects are "in a comatose state." -- Doug Clarke, OMRI, Inc. MONUMENT TO VYSOTSKII UNVEILED IN MOSCOW. A bronze statue of underground singer Vladimir Vysotskii was unveiled on Moscow's Strastnoi Boulevard on 25 July, the 15th anniversary of the singer's death, Rossiiskaya gazeta and AFP reported. Vysotskii, who once sang, "They'll never give me a monument on Strastnoi Boulevard," attracted a huge following during the Soviet period for his irreverent lyrics. -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc. NARCOTICS PRODUCED WITHIN STATE INSTITUTION. Police discovered a narcotics laboratory within the walls of the Moscow State Textile Academy, ITAR-TASS reported in 25 July. The laboratory had been operating in secret for a year, producing about a kg of synthetic methadone. Six members of a group who produced and sold the drugs were arrested in Nizhnii Novgorod, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. GREECE AND ARMENIA PLEDGE MILITARY COOPERATION. Greek Chief of Staff Admiral Christos Lymberis concluded what he called "very productive" talks with representatives of the Armenian government aimed at strengthening military cooperation between the two countries, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 July. KYRGYZ TROOPS TO PARTICIPATE IN NATO EXERCISES. The Kyrgyz Defense Ministry announced on 25 July that a platoon of Kyrgyz soldiers will take part in NATO exercises to be held in the U.S. from 6 to 28 August, From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Jul 27 13:14:57 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from owl.INS.CWRU.Edu by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA26839; Thu, 27 Jul 95 13:14:55 -0400 Received: (sms25@localhost) by owl.INS.CWRU.Edu (8.6.12+cwru/CWRU-2.1-bsdi) id NAA18569; Thu, 27 Jul 1995 13:14:51 -0400 (from sms25) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 13:14:51 -0400 From: sms25@po.CWRU.Edu (Shmaryu M. Shvartsman) To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: looking for Rosa Parnes Status: O I am looking for Rosa Parnes (maden name). She and her parents have immigrated to the USA in 1969 (or about this time) from the city of Beltcy in Moldova. Any information about her or her parents will be appreciate. My e-mail: sms25@po.cwru.edu Ph.(216)446-9114 (h) (216)368-4058 (of) Thanks in advance, Shmaryu Shvartsman. -- Physics Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Jul 27 21:59:03 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from newton.paragraph.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA27871; Thu, 27 Jul 95 21:59:00 -0400 Received: from nt.paragraph.com by newton.paragraph.com id aa08793; 27 Jul 95 18:47 BST Received: by nt.paragraph.com with NT SMTP Gateway ver 31 id <30184467@nt.paragraph.com>; Thu, 27 Jul 95 18:59:03 P From: "Khodoulev, Leonid" To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: looking for Alexander Fridman Date: Thu, 27 Jul 95 19:56:00 P Status: O I am looking for Alexander Fridman. He and his family have recently left Moscow for Chicago. Any information about him will be appreciate. My e-mail: khodoulev@paragraph.com Thanks in advance, Leonid Khodulev. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Fri Jul 28 20:06:30 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA05504; Fri, 28 Jul 95 20:06:28 -0400 Received: from dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (sasha@localhost) by dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (8.6.12/3.7davy) id TAA08589; Fri, 28 Jul 1995 19:06:26 -0500 Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 19:06:26 -0500 From: Alejandro Nalpak Subject: INFO-RUSS: o ptichkah... To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: OR --------------------------------------------------- From the keyboard of Alejandro Nalpak --------------------------------------------------- A kstati, o ptichkah... (and strictly for birds). Need your expertise again, folks. It is "o ptichkah" this time around. And about Vysotsky who died 15 years ago these days; he's just got himself a bronze statue in Moscow, got closer to birds now... The piece below is unfinished and uncut. I wrote it in the spring and was planning to use more poetry and edit the rest of the text, but have no time now, sorry. Yet my main question is well defined, and there is more than that in here anyway. Have a nice bird-outing... ----------------- Kak zasmotritsya mne nynche, kak zadyshitsya? Vozduh krut pered grozoyu, krut i vyazok. Chto spyotsya mne segodnya, chto uslyshitsya? Ptitsy veschie poyut -- da vse iz skazok! ----------------- Stop here; see -- "Ptitsy veschie poyut"? Vot eti samye ptichki i est'... Sure, you recognized a song by Vladimir Vysotsky, the one about Russia. Written in 1975, five years before he died. One of the things that made him so popular (and that set him apart from other unofficial "intellectual" bards) was that his was pretty much down-to-the-earth poetical persona (not him as a real individual, no, no, sir). There was not much of a mystery in his early songs; most of them were quite explicit and addressed to a guy-in-the-street. No subtleties there; street-smart kind of poetry... No need for him to be talking between lines: no danger was coming at him from any direction (but himself), everybody was worshiping him. Yet... closer to the end, he began developing a taste for dark symbolics. Some of it was obvious ("volki" in "Ohota na volkov"), some -- more subtle ("koni" -- the symbol of his own fate). Here it is about birds. Listen, how the song is moving: --------------- Ptitsa Sirin mne radostno skalitsya, veselit, zazyvaet iz gnezd. A naprotiv -- toskuet, pechalitsya, Travit dushu chudnoi Alkonost. Slovno sem' zavetnyh strun zazveneli v svoi chered -- eto ptitsa Gamayun nadezhdu podayet! --------------- Now, here comes my question: WHO are these birds? No, no, don't give me the line that they are just poetical images... He was too good a poet to put in so many telling details just for rhythm and rim, for fluff. It has never been a problem for him to drive a word like a nail into the right spot... So, take his text as a clue; WHO are they? Here is the rest of the song (I'll get to the birds after that): ----------------------------------------------------------------- V sinem nebe, kolokol'nyami prokolotom, -- mednyi kolokol, mednyi kolokol tol' vozradovalsya, toli oserchal. Kupola v Rossii kroyut chistym zolotom, chtoby chasche Gospod' zamechal. Ya stoyu, kak pered vechnoyu zagadkoyu, pred velikoyu da skazachnoi stranoyu, pered solono da gor'ko-kislo- sladkoyu, goluboyu, rodnikovoyu, rzhanoyu. Gryazyu chavkaya, zhirnoi da rzhavoyu, vyaznut loshadi po stremena, no vlekut menya sonnoi derzhavoyu, chto raskisla, opuhla ot sna. Slovno sem' bogatyh lun na puti moyom vstayot -- to mne ptitsa Gamayun nadezhdu podayet! Dushu, sbituyu utratami da tratami, dushu, stertuyu perekatami, -- esli do krovi loskut istonchal, -- zalatayu zolotymi ya zaplatami, chtoby chasche Gospod' zamechal... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hits you right into stomach, doesn't it... He was a rich poet... As for the birds... Is there really any mystery after all? Vysotsky was no Bosch, mind you... As an example, here is a possible line of logic (only example! I don't know the answer! I expect it from you!). First, about those birds "per se". If I am not mistaken, all of them are part of old (yet most likely, already Christian) Slavic mythology (BTW, I would appreciate it if somebody give me the birds' "Curriculum Vita": which one did what, how they came into being, etc.). It is pretty obvious that at least some of them came from the Greek mythology: "Sirin" is apparently a direct relative of those famous SIRENS (remember poor lusty Odyssey, tightened up to the mast of his ship between Scylla & Charybdis to keep him away from a "contact" experience with those fatally attractive ladies-birds:-). OK, let us start with "Sirin". Looks obvious that the people behind those birds must've been POETS. Whom else would he choose to talk to -- over our heads? Or people of literature, anyway. No problem for lit-gurus here to see a connotation for the Sirin-bird in Russian literature: "Sirin" was a pen-name of Vladimir Nabokov (another mystery: why some people feel a need for assumed names?:-). Looks fitting in the first approximation: one of the earliest Russian emigres, Nabokov, a fine wordsmith in Russian, a man who went through tough times and put in a tremendous amount of hard work, became one of the top Western authors -- in English! (Even non-gurus have heard about "Lolita", haven't you guys?:-). He traveled all over the world, personally knew most of the top people in the Western literature, was a familiar face on the campuses of most of the top Western universities, and won a Nobel Prize in literature... Why wouldn't he "radostno skalitsya, veselit, zazyvaet iz gnezd"? You may say, hey, hey, wait a minute, you wanted to talk about poets; Nabokov-Sirin, famous for all those novels, was no poet! Have to admit here, folks, I am no great fan of his novels... (hey, hey, don't shoot me if you are...), and frankly I am a bit doubtful whether Vysotsky was... But Nabokov-Sirin WAS also a poet! And a good one... And, as far as Russia, that is what he saw in his dreams in Berlin, 1927: --------------------------------- Byvayut nochi: tol'ko lyagu, | "Every night I am | v Rossiyu poplyvet krovat'; | back to Auschwits" | i vot vedut menya k ovragy, vedut k ovragy -- ubivat'. ....... O, serdste, kak by ty hotelo, chtob eto vpravdu bylo tak: Rossiya, zvezdy, noch' rasstrela i ves' v cheremuhe ovrag. --------------------------------- Not much of "radostno skalitsya, veselit", ha? And about "zazyvaet iz gnezd" -- not quite clear yet... But that's OK; a bit later, in 1944, in Cambridge, MA, he saw the things in a clearer light: -------------------------------- Kakim by polotnom batal'nym ni yavlyalas' sovetskaya susal'neishaya Rus', kakoi by zhalostyu dusha ne napolnyalas', -- ne poklonyus', ne primiryus' so vseyu merzostyu, zhestokost'yu i skukoi nemogo RABSTVA -- net, o, net! esche ya duhom zhiv, esche ne syt razlukoi, -- uvol'te, ya esche POET. -------------------------------- Different poets saw it differently, of course; some of them made a religion of suffering alongside with "nemym rabstvom": ___________________________________________ Mne golos byl. On zval uteshno, On govoril: "Idi syuda, Ostav' svoi krai glukhoi i greshnyi, Ostav' Rossiyu navsegda. Ya krov' ot ruk tvoikh otmoyu, Iz serdtsa vynu chernyi styd, Ya novym imenem pokroyu Bol' porazhenii i obid. No ravnodushno i spokoino Rukami ya zamknula slukh, Chtob etoi rech'yu nedostoinoi Ne oskvernilsya skorbnyi dukh. Anna Akhmatova (1917) -------------------------------- Net, i ne pod chuzhdym nebosvodom, i ne pod zashchitoi chuzhdykh kryl,- Ya byla togda s moim narodom, Tam, gde moi narod, k neschast'yu, byl. (1961) -------------------------------- But she's got stuck in Russia; I don't know whether she ever got a choice... Well, it was always a tough choice (if you had one; often you did not). And our three birds were sitting on the opposite sides of the fence, that much is obvious... As to "nemogo rabstva" itself -- oh, well, all of them, poets or not -- knew it well for centuries; remember -- "strana rabov, strana gospod, i vy, mundiry golubye, i ty, poslushnyi im narod..."? Or is Sirin -- Iosif Brodsky? Another Nobel prize winner, another forced immigrant, another so-Russian and so-unRussian poet, another talent having switched so seemingly easily from one language to another? ------------------------- Ni strany, ni pogosta ne hochu vybirat'. Na Vasilievsky ostrov ya priidu umirat'. Tvoi fasad temno-sinii ya vpot'mah ne naidu, mezhdu vytsvevshih linii na asfal't upadu. I dusha, neustanno pospeshaya vo t'mu, promel'knet nad mostami v petrogradskom dymu, i aprel'skaya moros', nad zatylkom snezhok, i uslyshu ya golos: -- Do svidanya, druzhok. I uvizhu dve zhizni daleko za rekoi, k ravnodushnoi otchizne prizhimayas' schekoi, slovno devochki-sestry iz neprozhityh let, vybegaya na ostrov, mashut mal'chiku vsled. (1962). ------------------------- But thanks God, he didn't stay in that God-damned place chtoby "na Vasil'evskii ostrov pridti umirat'". He left, with great pain, as most of us, with a feeling of belonging nowhere, of a dust in the wind... But, as some of us, he's got that feeling long before he left: ------------------------- Mimo ristalisch i kapisch, mimo hramov i barov, mimo shikarnyh kladbisch, mimo bol'shih bazarov, mira i gorya mimo, mimo Mekki i Rima, sinim solntsem palimy, idut po zemle pilligrimy... ------------------------- Mimo Rima -- ... i Veny ... Well, it was the way for many of us... But we haven't missed the US; Brodsky hasn't missed it either. Good for us. We are here to stay. The first place where a lot of us felt not as a dust in the wind. Now, again, is Brodsky -- Sirin? Hard to say, but something looks wrong here too... "Veselit, zazyvaet is gnezd.." ? All right, so much for Sirin. Now, Alkonost... ------------------------------------ A naprotiv -- toskuet, pechalitsya, travit dushu chudnoi Alkonost. ------------------------------------ So many candidates with such a typical Russian syndrome... Both grand-ladies of Russian poetry, Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva, could've been the right ones... --------------------------------------- V tom dome bylo ochen' strashno zhit'... ...... Teper' ty tam, gde znayut vse, skazhi: Chto v etom dome zhilo krome nas? A tebe esche malo po russki, I ty hochesh na vseh yazykah znat', kak kruty pod'emy i spuski, i pochem u nas sovest' i strah?... Kogda ya nazyvayu po privychke moih druzei zavetnyh imena, vsegda na etoi strannoi pereklichke mne otvechaet tol'ko tishina... Institutka, kuzina, Dzhul'eta! Ne dozhdat'sya tebe korneta. V monastyr' ty uidesh taikom. Nem tvoi buben, moya tsyganka, i uzhe pochernela ranka u tebya pod levym soskom... --------------------------------------- Yet, Alkonost... doesn't sound right for ladies... Who then could've been Alkonost? Just think of it: most of Russian poetry is about tragedy... And most of Russian poets' lives were a tragedy... Gosh, pick up ANY Russian poet -- it is a tragedy, not theatrical -- real one... Who could've been more spoiled and rich with life pleasures than Sergey Esenin? -- shot himself... And if you got no idea that you've got to shoot yourself -- they'll help you, poet- milasha... Who could've been more flower-loving and apolitical than Nikolai Gumilev? They shot him... And only in the end you can hear him "goruet, pechalitsya" (1921), not long before they put him in the front of firing squad (remember: "vedut k ovragu -- ubivat..."?) -------------------------- Posle stol'kih let ya prishel nazad, no izgnannik ya, i za mnoi sledyat. .... Smert' v domu moyem i v domu tvoyem, -- nichego chto smert', esli my vdvoem... -------------------------- Or look at Boris Pasternak, the luckiest of the best in the Stalin's time, the favorite poet of Joseph Stalin (who "appointed" on such a position Mayakovsky -- only because he died: easier to handle a dead poet...). Yet he hasn't escaped his fate either; another commy with a pretty face still got him in the end -- and this time around, his Nobel prize became a tool of the fate. As "Garik" Guberman acidly put it: Kak budto motyl'ki na plamya letyat v tomleniyah gluhih, poety vechno ishchut znamya -- chtoby pod nim ubili ih... (Remember:"Kak letom roem moshkara letit na plamya..."?) Who cares now about "znamya"; Pasternak's poetry, so Russian in substance, so Christian in theme, and so Jewish in sadness, has started its long journey into eternity... Ya v grob soidu i v tretii den' vosstanu, i, kak splavlyayut po reke ploty, ko mne na sud, kak barzhi karavana, stolet'ya poplyvut is temnoty. Yet there was so much life in it. With Melo, melo vo vsey zemle, vo vse predely.. there always was ... i zhar soblazna vzdymal, kak angel, dva kryla krestoobrazno. But in the end, it always been like: S poroga smotrit chelovek, ne uznavaya doma. Eye ot'ezd byl kak pobeg, vezde sledy pogroma... Pasternak was a poet of many facets; was he Alkonost? Difficult to put him anywhere... Could Alkonost be Osip Mandelstam? Was it his shadow rising from the abys of Stalin's camps in Vysotsky's memory? Looks to me like most likely Alkonost... ........................................................... ........................................................... ........................................................... ........................................................... And now -- Gamayun. --------------- Slovno sem' zavetnyh strun zazveneli v svoi chered -- eto ptitsa Gamayun nadezhdu podayet! --------------- Okudzhava? A poet who started almost at the same time as Vysotsky, yet so different... And his strings... so easy to say about him: "zavetnyh strun"... And so much of hope in him -- of course, along with sadness; is there any good Russian poet with no Alkonost in him? Nadezhdy malen'kii orkestrik pod upravleniem lubvi... Kogda mne ne vmoch' peresilit' bedu, kogda podstupaet otchayinie, I v sinii trolleibus sazhus' na hodu, poslednii, sluchainyi... Anybody else for Gamayun? Probably, there are one or two more. Not many, anyway. So much for hope in that haunted, God-forsaken place... .................................................................. .................................................................. .................................................................. A bit around these "troika"-birds. My own curiosity about them was steered by a strange guy, for whom this song was a sound-track on the background of his own bitter departure from "gor'ko-kislo-sladkaya" exactly 16 years ago; it kept playing, although softer and softer, in Vienna, then Rome, then on his flight over the ocean, then it slowly melted away into the background somewhere between Midwest and East Coast... The wind kept blowing, but the dust has settled since then for him, albeit you never know: he still is bothered with "troika"-birds... The song seems to be popular among strange people. In his "7 in Red Square" posting in August'93, our mean Coordinator cited "sem' zavetnyh strun" too; looks like his taste comes dangerously close to mine -- shame on me, shame... Anyway, back to ptichek... Who were they? Bird-lovingly and Alko-nosingly yours, Alejandro Nalpak From perev@vxcern.cern.ch Fri Jul 28 20:45:16 1995 Received: from dxmint.cern.ch by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA05680; Fri, 28 Jul 95 20:45:16 -0400 Received: from VXCERN.DECnet MAIL11D_V3 by dxmint.cern.ch id AA22674; Sat, 29 Jul 1995 02:45:00 +0200 Date: Sat, 29 Jul 1995 02:45:00 +0200 From: perev@vxcern.cern.ch (Victor.) Subject: INFO-RUSS: Looking for ... To: INFO-RUSS@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: O I am looking for Igor Pogorelski. MFTI 1970 He and his family have left Moscow for USA about 7 years ago. Any information about him will be appreciate. My e-mail: perev@vxcern.cern.ch Thanks in advance, Victor Perevozchikov. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sun Jul 23 23:49:41 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from CATTELL20.PSYCH.UPENN.EDU by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA25121; Sun, 23 Jul 95 23:49:40 -0400 Received: (from arkady@localhost) by cattell20.psych.upenn.edu (8.6.11/SAS 8.03) id XAA17677 for info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu; Sun, 23 Jul 1995 23:48:01 -0400 From: arkady@cattell.psych.upenn.edu (Arkady Lyubarsky) Posted-Date: Sun, 23 Jul 1995 23:48:01 -0400 Subject: INFO-RUSS: RussianBankSummary To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Date: Sun, 23 Jul 1995 23:48:01 -0400 (EDT) Mime-Version: 1.0 Status: O Netters, since i received 23 requests to share any pertinent information concerning non-carry-cash ways of funneling money into the homeland, i think i may spend some bandwidth answering to the whole list. what i got: 1. an advice to check citibank and chase manhattan which have branches in moscow. i didn't do it so far. 2. send my credit card to a person i want send money. yes, it generally works, but i was told a couple of times that in moscow you may take $100-200 from a MAC machine and then get a bill here for $500-700. and there is a rumour that the account numbers and PINs from moscow's MAC's go directly to a state agency you probably know the name of. just in case.. can't check, but easy to believe.. 3. i called western union (800 number you can find in any directory). their rates: $100 to transfer $2000, 70 with something for 1,000. it works overnight (they are saying). several offices in moscow (some work 7 days a week), dont know about other cities. that's it. good luck to everybody in making greeeeeen stuff here and safe sending it to the 1/6 piece of the ball. sincerely, arkady l. lyubarsky From burkov@lassp.cornell.edu Sun Jul 30 00:52 EDT 1995 Received: from HELIOS.LASSP.CORNELL.EDU by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA23089; Sun, 30 Jul 95 00:51:50 -0400 Date: Sat, 29 Jul 95 23:39:08 EDT From: "Sergei Burkov" Received: by lassp.cornell.edu (4.1/2.0) id AA16060; Sat, 29 Jul 95 23:39:08 EDT To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Sovokinform Status: OR Pryamoi reportazh iz Sovka: Kupil ya zhurnal "Razgulyai: Stolichnye zrelishcha i uveseleniya". Soderzhit repertuary teatrov, kino, museev i proch., kak "Teatral'no-kontsertnaya Moskva". Odnako v kontse imeetsya sleduyushchii razdel: Nochnye Krasavitsy Po Tverskoi u domov 5/6, 15, 31 ... U gostinits "Moskva", "Tsentral'naya", "Minsk" (urozhenki solnechnoi Afriki) ... U vyhoda iz podzemnogo perehoda na Pushke ... U pamyatnikov Karlu Marxu, Ivanu Feodorovu ... Tarify: $200 noch $100 v mashine $50 spetsuslugi Ploshchad' 3 vokzalov: 100 000 [rublei ?] noch 40 000 nemaya krasavitsa [!?] V shikarnom nochnom klube Up and Down ($70 tol'ko za vhod) - $500 za noch'. --- Vojna na juge Rossii nashla svoe otrazhenie i v Internete. Nedavno, izuchaja, chto pishut korrespondenty Usenet-group soc.culture.russian, ja obnaruzhil, chto obrazovalas' gruppa poklonnikov Shamilja Bassaeva, sozdajushchja svoe gnezdo v Net'e. Cto-to vrode alt.bassaev.fan (ne uveren v tochnosti adresa). Kljuchevaja ideja gruppy - sozdat' home page, soderzhashchuju informaciju ob oficerah, uchastvovavshih v vojne. S portretami ih samih i chlenov semej, adresami, itp. MASSIVE CAPITAL FLIGHT CONTINUES at the rate of $1-1.5 billion a month --- Iz odnogo iz nastoyaqih Buranov (russkij space shuttle) sdelali pivnyak, zataqiv ego v park kul'tury imeni otdyha. Moj staryj drug, stavshij novym russkim, nedavno gostil v USA. Skhodili v restoran Bella Vista pod San Francisco, poeli ulitok, krevetok i blyamanzhe vtroem na $180. Novyj russkij skazal, chto, vo-pervyh, v Moskve takoj obed stoil by ne men'she $1000, a, vo-vtoryh, takogo tam voobqe ne najti, ni za kakie den'gi. Zato San Franciskij striptiz ne poshel: "Takih koryag u nas by dazhe v klube zheleznodorozhnikov blizko ne podpustili". Set up charges for cellular phone in Moscow = $5,000, posle chego, pravda, neskol'ko legchaet: pri horoshem plane 50c/min za vozduh + 50c/min za outgoing calls. Zapasnye batarei i zarazhalku ot prikurivatelya pri e`tom kupit' dovol'no trudno ili ochen' dorogo. Moskva stanovitsya chem-to vrode Hong Konga, a provinciya - chem-to vrode Kitaya. V Tambove srednyaya zarplata $50, DEFICIT vsego, strashnye ocheredi, i sovkovye zavody nachali zakryvat'sya i vygonyat' rabochih na ulicu. Po nenauchnym vizual'nym ocenkam okolo 1/2 naseleniya Moskvy imeet pagers. ------------ From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sun Jul 30 10:44:41 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from emout04.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA20572; Sun, 30 Jul 95 10:44:40 -0400 Received: by emout04.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA135285263; Sun, 30 Jul 1995 10:41:03 -0400 Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 10:41:03 -0400 From: Leningrad@aol.com To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: o den'gah Status: OR -------------------------------------------------------------------- Inserted text of INFO-RUSS owner/coordinator Dear folks, Inadvertently, I've opened a Pandora's box by broadcasting a couple postings on money transfer to Russia. At this point I have a few new postings on the subject (most of them carrying no information). I decided to broadcast only the posting below, by , and only because it provides some first-hand, constructive information. This will be the last IR-posting on the subject, at least for now. In general, I am recently getting more and more requests for all kind of information related to travel, business, money transfer, and other needs in ex-USSR. I perfectly understand these needs and am sympathetic to them. However, since this, info-russ list was developed by me MOSTLY for the needs of EMIGRANTS who came to the West FROM the ex-USSR, and NOT the other way around, it is not the best vehicle for the requests on business/travel-in-the-ex-USSR info. My recommendation to you is to send your request to "Friends and Partners" mail-list, whose co-director, Greg Cole, , is one of your fellow IR-subscribers in good standing. "Friends and Partners" was developed having exactly this kind of info-needs in mind. As to your needs to provide support for your friends and relatives in ex-USSR, you can still use the old and well tried emigrant chain-of-trust, from-hand-to-hand technique, which used to work so well for so many years. And info-russ has always been greatly instrumental for you to find somebody who goes to or from Russia, and can carry a mail, or a small package with medicine, or a reasonable amount of money. Of course, this self-help chain of friendly people is not suited for business or travel-for-business needs, but it has never been a purpose of info-russ to be part of business or commercial undertakings. Sorry, folks, but I don't want this list to gradually become travel/business-in-Russia list. --Best, --Alex Kaplan, INFO-RUSS owner/coordinator -------------------------------------------------------------------- Text of Leningrad@aol.com: An additional note on getting money to Saint Petersburg or Moscow (or anyplace there is an American Express Office) - if you have an Amex card. This may be the only legitimate reason to have an Amex card. Step 1: Add the receipent to your Amex account here in the US. Have a card issued and sent to your US address. Also add the receipent to your checking account in your local bank. Step 2: Have your receipent go to the Amex office and report that card lost. They will have a new card issued within two days. Step 3: Receipent goes to Amex with the card and the checks and exercises "emergancy check cashing privledges" for cash. This service carries a 1% service charge. As of one year ago Amex did not issue cash - only travellers checks which then can be converted directly into roubles without a loss or into US currency for a 2% fee. All % are from my experience with this process, please reconfirm with Amex. This works fine but a 3% fee is a 3% fee. Also, please note: I do NOT recommend asking Amex to issue the card directly in Russia. I spent several months in Saint Petersburg trying to get them to issue me my replacement card at my St. Petersburg address with no luck - until I finally decided to say that I had received the card in the US and lost it - a replacement was immed. available. There appear to be communication problems between Amex SU and Amex US. If anyone comes up with better routes please continue to share them - everything I've seen so far carries disadvantages or good sized fees. Leningrad@aol.com From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sun Jul 30 17:27:17 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from mail1.its.rpi.edu by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA21231; Sun, 30 Jul 95 17:27:15 -0400 Received: from gfr.eng.rpi.edu (gfr.eng.rpi.edu [128.113.37.32]) by mail1.its.rpi.edu (8.6.9/8.6.4) with ESMTP id RAA28017; Sun, 30 Jul 1995 17:27:13 -0400 From: Valery Eugene Fradkov Received: (fradkv@localhost) by gfr.eng.rpi.edu (8.6.9/8.6.4) id RAA15379; Sun, 30 Jul 1995 17:27:11 -0400 Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 17:27:11 -0400 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: HIAS Info Status: O Important information for your relatives in the FSU (from New American Newsletter, Albany, NY) HIAS has advised all New Americans, whose relatives in the FSU were interviewed more than six months ago, to urge these relatives to make their travel plans as soon as possible, or by September 30, 1995. As you know, the US government sets annual limits for the arrival of refugees each year. If this year's limit is not reached by September 30, unused arrival numbers will be lost, and there is no guarantee how many persons will be allowed entrance in the next fiscal year. You may want to pass this information to your relatives in the FSU as soon as possible. Valery Fradkov From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Tue Jul 25 15:00:47 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Received: from SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA10662; Tue, 25 Jul 95 15:00:44 -0400 Received: from BARKER-6-3.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA25412; Tue, 25 Jul 95 15:00:42 EDT Received: by barker-6-3.MIT.EDU (5.57/4.7) id AA05518; Tue, 25 Jul 95 15:00:41 -0400 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: immigration bill Date: Tue, 25 Jul 1995 15:00:41 EDT From: Ilya Shlyakhter Status: OR ------- Forwarded Message From: Leonid Reyzin Date: Tue, 25 Jul 95 11:49:29 PDT The following immigration reform bill introduce in the congress seems extremely dangerous. Especially because it cuts off the channels of immigration a lot of us/our friends are using: employment immigration, professor immigration, etc. Please, support the effort and oppose the bill! - ---------------------- > I'm forwarding this email to you to let you know a serious > Anti-Immigration Bill is being proposed and all the concerned people > are called to write letters to express objections against the bill. > Concretely, what you need to do is to take a few minutes to write > the following letter to the address: > > Attn: Shirley Chen > 995 Market St. Suite 1108, > S.F. CA94103 > > > > ------------------- cut here ----------------- > > I OPPOSE H.R. 1915 > > The Bill (H.R. 1915) will keep children, parents, > and brothers and sisters away. This ia a serious > attack on me and thousands of people who have > been waiting a long time to reunite with their > families. I have been waiting many years to be > reunited with my family members. > > This is a cruel and unfair bill that will keep me > separated from my family. I OPPOSE H.R. 1915 > > ------------------- cut here ----------------- > > Forwarded message: > > From: Jan Pederson > Attorny > Member, Board of Governors > American Immigration Lawyers Association > EMAIL: JANPED@ix.netcom.com > > SUB: WORK VISAS THREATENED--- H.R. 1915 > > Attention all netters! Immediate action needed by everyone to save > immigration! H.R. 1915, an immigration reform bill is on a fast track to > become law. This bill was introduced in the House on 6/21/95. On 7/13, > the House Immigration Subcommittee marked up and will continue beginning > a 6 p.m. Monday night. The sponsor is Lamar Smith (Republican from > wealthy white part of San Antonio area). They are trying to fast track > this bill before anyone knows it exists. If you, your employers, > friends, relatives do not pressure Congress, most of you will not be in > America. The bill purports to impose harsher penalties on "illegal" > immigration. So your average congressional staffer doesn't read the 300 > page bill and tells his boss to vote for it. Well, the illegal > provisions are bad enough. E.G. If you are out of status in the U.S. > for one year, you cannot return for 10, yes, 10 years. No exceptions. > You all can get the bill and read the illegal parts. > > However, more of a threat are the hidden abolition of employment > immigration. Just a few highlights should scare you all into action: > > > > *Many new restrictions on H-1B, making it ever more unattractive to > employers. The movement to abolish H-1B is at the moment being led by > John Bryant (Democrat from Dallas who thinks there should be no foreign > workers on US soil.--This guy is very dangerous and needs to hear from > H-1b employers, etc., particularly in Dallas. Of course he is pro labor > union but powerful employers who vow this will be his last term in > Congress can make a difference. All employers/workers, etc. need to > call, write and e-mail him immediately.) As the bill is still in the > Immigration Subcommittee markup the contours of the proposed damage to > H-1B visas is still up for grabs. > > *No more green cards for aliens of extraordinary ability.. > > *No more green cards for "outstanding professors and researchers". > > *No more green cards for "national interest" workers. > > *No green cards for professionals with less than five years experience. > > *No green cards for skilled workers with less than seven years experience. > > *And if you should somehow still qualify for an employment based visa > after all this, the wait will be very long. The bill proposes to reduce > the number of employment based green cards from 140,000 per year to > 100,000 per year. Doesn't sound bad, right? Wrong. From the 100,000 > visas will be deducted the number of visas necessary to satisfy excess > demand in the family categories. Thus, there could easily be only a few > thousand of these visas per year. > > *Last but not least, if any of you has been out of status, inadvertently, > for even a day, you would be prohibited from obtaining a non-immigrant > visa anywhere but in your home country. No more CJ for you. You will be > sent abroad wheto do with it and did not even know > -- ------- End of Forwarded Message From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Mon Jul 24 12:28:31 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from itsa.ucsf.EDU by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA02285; Mon, 24 Jul 95 12:28:29 -0400 Received: from lppi-irel-mac2.ucsf.EDU by itsa.ucsf.edu (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03) id AA102040; Mon, 24 Jul 1995 09:28:25 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 09:27:33 -0800 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu From: liss@itsa.ucsf.edu (Dmitri Lissin) Subject: INFO-RUSS: Sakhalin Aid Status: OR >From: FrAlexandr@aol.com >Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 15:58:55 -0400 > >We are St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in San Francisco, here in >the USA by the >order of the Moscow Patriarchate without association to any American >organized Church. We frequently perform missions to assist the needy here and >abroad. We have recently received a letter from the diocese of Sakhalin, the >far eastern island of Russia which was the site of the tragic earthquake this >past May. Only one-third of the town's population of Neftegorsk has survived. > In response to their plea for help, our parish in San Francisco has begun to >collect basic non-perishable food, warm clothing, blankets, shoes, and >monetary aid. > >However, many of the 1200 survivors are sick and injured, and the poorly >equipped hospitals need further assistance. A donation of any kind would be >greatly appreciated and will go directly to the suffering people. The town >has specifically requested items such as medications (pain, sedation, >antibiotics), sterile dressings and drapes, linen, syringes, IV materials, >plaster casting, and prosthetic equipment. > >In order to help this devastated town, you may send your contribution >directly to our parish or contact me to make further arrangements. We would >also appreciate if you could share this letter with any other potential >donors. > >Thank you, and may God bless you. > > >Rev.Father Alexander Karpenko PS> Please contact me at 2005 15th Street, San Francisco CA 94114 Phone/Fax: (415) 621-1849

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From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Wed Aug 2 14:16:47 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from cdp.igc.apc.org by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA14946; Wed, 2 Aug 95 14:16:43 -0400 Received: from igc2.igc.apc.org (igc2.igc.apc.org [192.82.108.39]) by cdp.igc.apc.org (8.6.12/Revision: 1.203 ) with SMTP id LAA11229 for ; Wed, 2 Aug 1995 11:15:32 -0700 Received: (from efenster) by igc2.igc.apc.org (8.6.11/Revision: 1.14 ) id LAA24081 for info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu; Wed, 2 Aug 1995 11:14:52 -0700 Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 11:14:52 -0700 From: Eric Fenster To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Moscow study trip notes Status: OR ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From the INFO-RUSS coordinator Dear folks, the notes below seem to be interesting, especially since the situation is seen through the eyes of an outsider. Be aware, the file is about 30 kb long (I've shothen it somewhat by deleting his detailed travel schedule); I am posting it using the fact that summer msg traffic is slow. For any comments, replies, etc, send your msgs directly to the originator, efenster@igc.apc.org, as usual. Best, --Alex Kaplan ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Eric Fenster: These observations were made during a study trip to Moscow from 30 May-27 June 1995; they continue a series written since 1992. They are anecdotes, not a "balanced" account or a comprehensive analysis of the Russian situation. I welcome dialogue on these notes. Similar study trips, open to interested adults from any country, will be organized in 1996. Individuals or institutions who may wish to participate should contact me at 71450.1223@compuserve.com or efenster@igc.apc.org Eric Fenster ============ Getting there It has become practically a tradition for the "adventure" to begin on the flight itself. Last year it was the theatrical reluctance of a Russian "businessman" to be expelled from Belgium; this year it was the more prosaic form of heat. We didn't know we were about to face Moscow's most torrid June in a century, and the announcement was rude. The day we flew, the only functional runway at Sheremetevo buckled and the airport was closed. My group was lucky. They left on time after a stop in London and were "only" delayed two hours by circling Sheremetevo and a wait on the tarmac. Flights earlier than theirs had been diverted to other Moscow airports and, because of claims there were no immigration facilities, the passengers spent hours sitting on the planes in the heat. I was flying from Paris, and by the time the plane could leave Moscow to fetch us the delay was eight hours. We got to Sheremetevo at 2 am. The taxi sharks would be ravenous at that hour, and there was no certainty I could get into our residence. I chose a spot on the departure level where only a few years before whole families, taking advantage of the recent possibility to emigrate freely, would live for days or weeks while waiting for a flight with seats. They used to even put up string and hang blankets on it to demarcate their "apartments." The floor cleaner considerately drove by just as I arrived, so I had an unsoiled place to sleep until morning. The signs said that the municipal buses to the northernmost stations of the Metro lines began running at 7 am. Like so many signs which haven't been changed, they were wrong, but this time in our favor: they began coming at 6 am. I got a seat on one, but it filled quickly with suburbanites going to work. The people standing were pretty squeezed, when suddenly a burly middle-aged woman began to yell at the young man next to her. What prompted her, I don't know, but soon she was screaming that it was entirely improper to ride without a ticket. Show me your ticket, she hollered, and reached into her purse to pull out her ID card. A transit inspector! She was surely only on her way to work and not on duty, but whatever had inspired her rage, she was going to pull rank. The young man had the perfect retort. He calmly reached into his wallet and pulled out his own ID. A cop! I was waiting for a chain reaction to occur, imagining that this crush of apparently ordinary people concealed a mass of privileges and that they'd shortly be flashing probative documents at each other. What with rules of age, youth, sex, pregnancy, health, war veteran status and courtesy sometimes causing a dance of seat priority on Russian public transport, it wasn't entirely a fantasy, but this time the offsetting IDs calmed passions and the affair ended in a quite friendly conversation. It was the first contradiction since my arrival; I felt at home. The state of things The macroeconomic signs have been improving in Russia, there has been rapid learning of the methods of market-oriented institutions, consumer goods are widely in evidence. But people I know who were optimists during the difficult recent years and who threw themselves into the changes expressed their pessimism and bitterness this year. They feel on the edge of a political and economic abyss. Boris Yeltsin's tenure as the latest hoped-for "good Tsar" is over, and cynicism about electoral politics seems so complete that the failure to achieve the required 25% voter turnout in many of last year's regional elections (even in the city of St. Petersburg) could be generalized in December's parliamentary poll and threaten the legitimacy of the legislature. Moscow's external appearance continued to change in a way which proved the complete absence of democracy at local level. The mayor (and the state) initiate projects at will, apparently without even a nod to participation in the decision process. Some continue the tradition of gigantism and symbols--like the six storey underground shopping center being built on Manege Square (a dubious priority in view of all of Moscow's other problems) or a crude "rebuilding" of the Christ the Savior church (complete with a three storey underground commercial center!) in place of the more useful year-round swimming pool. Some just substitute the fake for the real as on the touristic Old Arbat ("a year of aggression against authenticity, a year of forgeries, surrogates and copies" in the words of a Nezavisimaya gazeta article). And there are now the first tracts of single homes, "Tsar's villages," for the excessively rich which begin the process trading Moscow's greenery for commercialism just as pollution from cars is doubling andtripling hospital admissions for respiratory ailments. For those to whom advertising billboards are the mark of urban beauty and proof of modernity and who found, in their absence, evidence for the previous system's failings--the city is well along the road to redemption. Vistas of tree-lined boulevards be damned. The most intriguing new signposts I saw were for "Bistros." The story goes that the French adopted the name, "bistro" from the Russian word for fast, to described cafes where one could get a quick meal. It's a little hard to explain (in ASCII), but the Russian word is written with a letter for what we could call the hard i sound and which is often transliterated as y. Hence, "bystro." So, in the drive to be Western, the Russians, in "bistro," have reimported their own word... with French spelling. The street kiosks were still plentiful although some, at one bus stop near our Metro station, had disappeared along with all but one fruit seller. Perhaps some turf questions had been sorted out... At the Metro station further south, many of the kiosks had been rebuilt in brick and suggested a permanence to the street distribution of commodities. At the same time, there was more of the repetitious stress on soft drinks and alcohol and the disappearance of the more artisanal--like fresh lavash (Caucasian bread) and other baked goods. At the approaches to central Metro stations, there was still one sign of hard times: the long lines of people, mainly women, selling personal objects or packages of cigarettes or a bottle of some drink. While this had gone on uninterrupted for years, it was still considered illegal. I was in the passage between Revolution Square and Nikolskaya Street when suddenly the hundred or so women standing along the wall began to flutter and then melt into the crowd in a kind of wave; in an instant, a "market" had disappeared. The reason was the approach of two policemen, whose arrival had been silently signalled down the whole queue. The police strolled into a shop to admire some computer games, the objective of their demarche, and pretended at least to be unaware of the dispersal they had caused. Fifteen seconds had not passed before the hundred sellers and their goods had emerged from the crowd and were back to the wall. There is a Russian saying to the effect that no matter how often one scatters the crows they will just circle and roost again. The roles had been played out. I recently saw some film footage of Moscow streets during the NEP (New Economic Plan) in the 20s, and they looked like an earlier equivalent of the kiosks and the individual sellers. So, there was nothing especially new in this form of retailing, except that in the contemporary version all of the preserved and packaged goods-- as well as the fruits and vegetables--are imported. There are estimates that up to 70% of food consumed in Moscow is imported, and perhaps 50% elsewhere. This was a sign of the great stumbling block in the reform process. To the extent there was growing prosperity (for some), nobody versed in economics could tell me other than that its basis was a kind of spending spree in which oil and gas receipts ended up as consumer goods from abroad. Investment and restructuring are still rare and difficult. It is hard to measure well-being in Russia because no statistics are reliable. On the one hand, there is hidden unemployment: millions of people not officially out of work and seeking it but who may be on forced holidays for months at a time or who don't receive wages for equal periods. On the other, there is hidden employment: millions of people working in undeclared jobs, often as "shuttles" moving imported consumer goods from the East. As often as not, the same person is "hidden" under both categories. To a large extent, shuttle commerce is in the "shadows," and this implies that millions of Russians have a stake in and will support the illegal and semi-legal economy. Enterprises which used to exaggerate their success during the Soviet period in order to meet the Plan now underestimate output in order to evade confiscatory taxes. Officially the average monthly salary in Russia was the equivalent of about $75. With inflation taken into account, real wages have been decreasing. Real income has been increasing on the average in the past year because of unearned income and other sources unconnected with primary employment, but most of this increase is enjoyed by people in the top 10% or so of revenue. The many people at the $50 or so monthly wage level ), face prices like $1.00-1.50 for a kilogram of fruit and $4.00 for a kilo of sausage. A beer at a cafe on the Arbat, where the well-off and the tourists hang out, runs $6. The monthly pass on Moscow's public transportation, $12, represents a week's wages for such people compared to 2.5% of monthly wages in the "old days," a 10-fold relative increase. And who might earn such meager salaries? Professors, scientists, advisors in the Foreign Ministry with 10-15 years' experience... (The implications of the last ought to worry all of us as we see relations with Russia become more delicate.) A Russian friend criticized me for citing these figures. You're always whining about the poor professors and their low salaries, she said, but I can tell you that my professor just bought a new flat and a new car. And in the next breath she complained that despite his opulence he skipped classes and couldn't be found in his office when he was needed. Which was, of course, just the point: If educators weren't being paid for their duties, they weren't likely to carry them out. But it was her next statement that was the most telling. Yes, she allowed, I suppose that after all the effort it took to become a professor he ought to get at least something for lecturing... The tone and meaning were clear: she had bought into the ethos that only activity which directly generated money deserved to be compensated. Selling Snickers merited financial rewards; teaching, one could do for amusement. People with "good" jobs involving accounting, language skills, etc., can earn $200-500 per month, but for them the ever-present dream of having their own apartment still recedes because with the housing market now privatized even a one-room flat can cost about $30,000. Then there are those who vacation on the Riviera in the most expensive accommodations they can find or lose thousands of dollars a night in the Moscow casinos... Last year Tibet had moved into the ground floor of the annex to our residence. Tibet was an "investment firm" with the good reputation of always paying off. The best thing about Tibet was that in a single day it had asphalted the whole space from the street and around the building entrance, putting an end to years of deep mud which made the building almost unattainable after every rain. During the year, it was found that Tibet was crooked--like the famous MMM--and it was gone. Now there was a money exchange guarded by a platoon of heavily armed and always suspicious hulks in the ubiquitous camouflage uniforms. We got into the habit of approaching our part of the building with a disinterested attitude and without making sudden moves, but this dissuasive force had its comforting features, to say nothing of the convenience of having an exchange so close (even if it sometimes felt humbling to change $20 or $50 when other clients arrived hauling attache cases). Two cultures There were frequent signs of contradictions in the "modernization" process. The "new Russians" may have credit cards and flaunt their cellular phones in the street, but panic spread in our residence when an utterly distraught receptionist reported that somebody in my group had used her phone to call America. "It will cost millions!" she exclaimed, figuring we'd be gone when the bill came and she'd be held responsible for the equivalent of months of her salary. Over the next couple days, I patiently explained several times how a phone card functions, but why should somebody who had probably never even attempted the agony of placing an international call be anything but skeptical. She only calmed down when a colleague she trusted told her: "They have such things in civilized countries." It was self-demeaning, but it worked. Not two days went by before the alarm was sounded again: "He made another call to America, it's going to cost me millions!" But I thought we already resolved the phone card issue, I said. "Yes, but this time he didn't have a card!" So I had to start over and explain collect calls, the leap of faith by which the Russian phone company would believe somebody in a foreign country would keep a promise to pay for somebody else's call. This, in a country where non-payments of debts between enterprises is measured in the tens of trillions of rubles and wages are not paid for months at a time. The banking system seems to be a sector under significant development despite bizarre jerks backward, such as the recent rule by the Central Bank that the forms for all money exchange transactions have to be filled out by hand instead of by typewriter or computer. It was during the exchange of travelers checks to pay for the expenses of my group that I got to observe a real learning curve. The number of checks was well over 100 and each had to be stamped with the payee bank's name on the front and with an endorsement on the back. The teller first started out as usual: turned a row of 5 checks face down, stamped them and put them to one side. But since the finished checks weren't piled neatly, there was room for only 4 checks the second round, and three the third. The procedure for the typical client was not going to work with this volume. Step one on the curve, the teller changed to stamping one check at a time with her right hand and then putting it on a pile to her right with her left. This solved the problem of working space, but it was very awkward to pass under the stamping hand to pile the checks on the "wrong" side. Step two: She switched to stamping checks with her right hand and collecting them with her left. This avoided the contortions, but very soon it became unwieldy to pick up more checks. Step three: Stamp with the right hand and pile the checks to the LEFT with the left hand. This established a rhythm which went through the pile in no time at all. A bank guard standing alongside the counter was following this process as intensely as I, and we both broke into beaming smiles at the success. It was as if the whole country was finding its way, on its own. One step forward, two steps back We went back to the same agricultural machinery we'd first visited in 1993. Readers of past notes will recall it had dropped from nine thousand workers to about 1/10 that number and had entirely ceased production of mowers. This time there were some signs of progress. The old assembly line had been replaced with work areas for making gasoline pumps and the foundry-from-hell had been closed, but when I talked to a couple workers they immediately launched into a litany of complaints ranging from wages (theirs were $50 per month) to the absence of anybody or group for whom i would be worth voting in the coming December elections. Diana, the fiery plant newspaper editor, derided the further decline in conditions which she said included the loss of medical insurance. She told of having to take up a collection so that the husband of one worker could have surgery. Diana was absent when we came last year. I told her we had met the new factory director, a Georgian, and recalled the story she had told us in 1993 about a Georgian who had been "infiltrated" into the plant as a worker because only employees were eligible to buy shares under the version of privatization for which the workers had voted. Diana had insisted then that this "worker" had an outside "organization" behind him. Might it be that the new director was the same person, I asked. "That's the one!" she replied. We seemed to be observers of the widespread result of privatization under "option two," purchase by the work collective, in which the reality is assumption of ownership by the managers. We also returned to the private dairy farm near Moscow. It was now almost two years since Peter had been found hanged for apparently not wanting to share his success with the mob and since the state farm grabbed back all the pasture land it was leasing in order to sell it to the nouveaux riche for construction of extravagant dachas. Peter's wife, Alla, had invited a family to live with her and her daughter to help run the place. The size of the herd had dropped further, and the cows did not look as if they were giving much milk. A Swiss farmer was working on the farm as a way to practice Russian after a few months of formal instruction. He was convinced that with the means available it would be possible to get the same amount of milk with half the number of cows and turn a profit by not spreading resources so thin. His advice to Alla was to cut the herd, but she faced at least two obstacles. One was that there could be no going back if the decision were wrong. The second was probably a lifetime of living with the mentality that more and bigger was better. Alla's choice was more radical. Russians prefer pork, she said, so by next year we'll going to get rid of the cows and raise pigs. A short distance from the farm the Ministry of Agriculture owned a tract of land of which it gave parcels to its employees on which to build dachas, a common practice in the "old days." The street of small rustic cottages was lushly overgrown with the flowers and vegetables planted by the owners. We met one resident, a hale 84, who relaxed by tending his garden after a life which included construction work from Moscow's first Metro line to railways in Eastern Siberia. This, stripped of the politics and abuses, was the Soviet man, at peace with himself and modestly proud of the contribution he made to his country, but disturbed by the loss of discipline and by the fact that he now had to worry constantly about what might be happening to his tightly fastened Moscow apartment whereas in the past he went away and left the door unlocked. At the other end of the age scale are the "new Russians," the "biznizmen." One incident gave a clue to their lives. An American working in Moscow with a consulting firm came to spend a morning discussing his experiences with my group. Afterward, a Russian friend approached me very puzzled. What I don't understand, he said, is why that guy would take the time to do that if he is in business. Is it because he owes you a favor? My friend has a son who is in business and whom he never sees anymore; supposedly, there's just never time. I explained that the person who spoke to us has a family to whom he gives the time and attention they need, that he knows how to work in an organized and intensive way and to hire the right number of personnel and delegate authority, and that, besides, part of business is doing community and pro bono work and having non-commercial relations with potential future customers. In short, the Russian image of business as a universally desperate workaholic frenzy was the sure path to burnout. And in the provinces When we travelled for several days to the Golden Circle of ancient Russia, we started out this year in Kirjatch, some 120 km from Moscow. French television made a documentary in 1993 about how this town of about 50,000 was being affected by the reforms. The general picture was of a bucolic place, deeply provincial despite its closeness to Moscow, where people might now be "free," but free to do what? The economy was only getting worse... except for the new owners of the town's hotel. They had appeared from Moscow as the only bidders in the hotel's auction, a typical way in which mafia forces assured their ownership during the first phase of privatization. We met with several journalists from the town's newspaper and cable radio station, who told us the film was shown for a month in the town's cultural center. In general, they were offended by the negative picture painted by the documentary and particularly because they thought that the presence of several of the town's drunks in it was meant to imply that the whole population was under the influence. (Several of us had interpreted these poetic characters as a device similar to the chorus in a Greek play and not at all demeaning.) And despite the pessimism of the documentary, there were several functioning factories in the city. I recalled an incident when one of our group wanted to photograph the woman attendant on our floor of the residence in Moscow. She wanted to decline because she was wearing house slippers. There was no intention to take a picture of her feet, but it demonstrated a common Russian attitude that a picture is a pose to show people in their best light, not something candid or spontaneous. Having made their point, the tone of the meeting changed. One of the editors who had been quiet to that point took the floor to explain that while the factories existed they were operating only a couple days a week and workers frequently did not receive their meager salaries. In short, two years later the impacts of the reform were just as serious as they had been portrayed. Finally, the woman presiding over the meeting and who had made the criticism of the film told us her own situation: two higher education degrees and a salary of about $50 per month. One interesting difference from Moscow. This was the period when the hostages were being held by Chechens in Budyonovsk. In the capital, the attitude was frequently indignant: "Look what they are doing to us!" The terror inflicted by Russian authorities on civilians in Chechnya seemed not to count. For the people we met in Kirjatch, the hostage situation seemed the logical result of what Russia had done. In Russian, the Last Judgment translates as the Terrible Judgment. Last year we had the face-off with the leather-jacketed guards at the monastery in Sergeev-posad, whose doctrine was that only death resolves anything and there is no hope on earth. This year our confrontation with Russian orthodoxy occurred in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Vladimir. We were standing under Rublev's fresco of the Last Judgment, one of uncharacteristic tranquility, listening to our guide's sober and respectful explanation. At one point she gently chided our interpreter about the difference between "repair" and "restoration." They chuckled. The breach of expected morosity in this joyless Church was observed by one of the woman caretakers watching from the shadows. A couple minutes later, our host came up to us very agitated: "They say you are laughing at them. They think you are all Catholics who have come to mock the Orthodox Church." We were kicked out of the cathedral and the doors locked behind us. In Suzdal our guide was David. When tourism declined precipitously after it became more expensive for Russian groups and foreigners stayed away once perestroika ended, the number of guides in Suzdal dropped from about 25 to 7. David's knowledge of art history and his command of English allowed him to survive, but only at the expense of constant abuse from colleagues who wanted him to cede his place and go to Israel. With eighteen years of seniority and a floor or 100 hours per month leading groups, David earns $30 per month. When we left to return to Moscow the Russian government was putting on a vast show of security. It had been embarrassed by the Chechens' taking the hospital in Budyonovsk and by the failure of two assaults, which luckily did not result in the mass killing of the hostages. To compensate, thousands of police and troops were thrown into the "protection" of Moscow. On the streets and in the Metro this meant the racist tactic of running ID checks on anybody with a dark complexion (visitors to Paris would find the scene familiar). And on the roads... We had not left Vladimir far behind when we came to a roadblock manned by both police and an armored personnel carrier. A policeman got on our bus, looked us over, and got off. We had driven about five minutes when a jeep pulled alongside and, through a bullhorn, ordered us to stop. Two police came on board. One stood guard at the front with an assault weapon. The other slowly walked down the aisle and then stopped: "You took a photo through the window at the roadblock," he said to one of our members. "That is illegal," he invented. "You must expose your film." I didn't know how many pictures on the roll had already been shot, but I didn't want this guy to lose his Russia photos. The inspiration came to play the bureaucrat. "He will give you the film," I said. "But you are required to give him a receipt for anything you confiscate. You can take the film and cut out the offensive frame and tell him where to come to recover the rest of his pictures." "We have no such technology." "Very well, but you must give him a receipt." I was right, I was sure. More important, the militia man thought so. And he had no forms or any other kind of paper to give anybody who would challenge his authority. He thought quickly. "How many photos did you take at the roadblock?" he asked the culprit. "One." "Can you roll back your film and double expose it?" Before the negative answer could be uttered, another quick- thinking member of the group said he could. He took the camera, held it up, wound it forward and snapped the shutter. "One more time," said the militiaman. Wind to the next frame. Click. "That will do." And, having saved face, the police wished us good-by and left. Coming back I had time to browse in the duty free shop before my flight home. I decided to buy a 9-volt battery: very expensive in France, $3 here. When I went to pay, the computer gave the price as $3.50. The clerk and I looked at every battery; every one was marked $3, but she said she had to go with the computer's price. I argued of course that she had to sell at the marked price. Then we noticed that each price sticker covered another one, and the one on the bottom was $3.50. You might conclude--I did-- that the old $3.50 price had been reduced and covered with the new one, but that somebody forgot to change the computer's database. The clerk, and the manager who was involved by this time, argued that it was the sticker with the new price which was covered by the old one! And they both set about conscientiously pulling off all the "old" stickers to reveal the "new" one. The problem was that in this modern outpost of Russia's new market economy nobody had thought to give the employees the authority to overrule the computer, so they had to make themselves look ridiculous. But why should the Russians always take the fall for this sort of thing? A month before I had some film developed in Paris. It wasn't ready when I went to pick it up. I pointed out that it was supposed to be a 48-hour service. The clerk, who had no authority to propose a solution, thought quickly: "Oh, that's the minimum time," she explained. ====== From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Aug 3 23:56:53 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from jupiter.superlink.net by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA24403; Thu, 3 Aug 95 23:56:50 -0400 Received: from mars.superlink.net (vblok@mars.superlink.net [204.97.220.9]) by jupiter.superlink.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id XAA14762 for <@jupiter.superlink.net:info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu>; Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:37:17 -0400 Received: by mars.superlink.net (940816.SGI.8.6.9/940406.SGI) for info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu id XAA07022; Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:59:55 -0400 Date: Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:59:55 -0400 From: vblok@mars.superlink.net (Victor R. Blok) To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Looking for a Ph.D. graduate student. Status: OR Urgent! There is a vacancy for a position of Ph.D. student (TA) at the University of Houston in the field of Dynamical Systems with applications. Those who may be interested, please, contact a.s.a.p. Prof. Isaak Kunin: (713) 520-6027 (h.), (713) 743-4531 (off.). E-mail: kunin@uh.edu. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Aug 3 23:14:27 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from mail02.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA24318; Thu, 3 Aug 95 23:14:26 -0400 Received: by mail02.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.16/16.2) id AA272866065; Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:14:25 -0400 Date: Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:14:25 -0400 From: RodC664281@aol.com Message-Id: <950803231424_47547833@aol.com> To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: software - help Status: OR Perhaps someone can help. I have MS Word 6.0 in the Russian language, but I have been unable to find the Russian language windows enabler. MS does not make it, and does not know who does. I heard that a Finnish Co makes it, but I cannot locate this company. I found a Cyrillic character program, but this is not read by all parts of windows. Some pull down menues are in Russian but other stuff is in Greek characters. I need help to find the missing software so the system will word. Also, I would like to find some more Russian fonts. I have an IBM compatible PC. Thanks in advance for any help. My office phone is 801-526 2325. Rod C From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Mon Aug 7 01:05:04 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from mail02.mail.aol.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA23906; Mon, 7 Aug 95 01:05:03 -0400 Received: by mail02.mail.aol.com (1.37.109.16/16.2) id AA019211902; Mon, 7 Aug 1995 01:05:02 -0400 Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 01:05:02 -0400 From: Sjlsre@aol.com To: INFO-RUSS@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: Russian/Peru Connection Status: OR Dear folks, I am writing this note on behalf of my brother-in-law Gustavo who participated from 1984 thru 1991 in an interesting academic scholarship program whereby students from Peru went to school in the FSU for an engineering education. It is quite an accomplishment to have made it through the program and as a result he speaks Russian quite well. I have a simple request if anyone can help. Could you e-mail the names of any persons known to have participated in the same program, and who might be living in the US, so that Gustavo could converse with them? Secondly, I would be most appreciative if anyone has heard of any companies or industries that might benefit from this interesting dual fluency in Spanish and Russian? Thanks for any help in this regard. Please e-mail me at sjlsre@aol.com. Stephen Licata From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Wed Aug 9 11:41:22 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from weizmann.weizmann.ac.il by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA10384; Wed, 9 Aug 95 11:41:13 -0400 Received: from WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL by WEIZMANN.weizmann.ac.il (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9246; Wed, 09 Aug 95 18:41:35 +0300 Received: from WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL (NJE origin CSSCHWAR@WEIZMANN) by WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 1098; Wed, 9 Aug 1995 18:41:36 +0300 Date: Wed, 09 Aug 95 18:41:11 +0300 From: Jacob Malkin Subject: INFO-RUSS: Boulder, Colorado To: Info-Russ Status: OR Dear Netters, My wife starts in September her postdoc studies in Boulder, Colorado She needn't a flat, but any other info wuill be appreciated... Est li nashi ludi v Boulder? Please, reply me directly Yours Jacob Malkin E-mail: csschwar@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il From @UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU:owner-omri-l@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU Thu Aug 10 09:10 EDT 1995 Received: from ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu by super.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA04169; Thu, 10 Aug 95 09:10:23 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 14:54:01 +0200 From: OMRI Publications Subject: INFO-RUSS: OMRI Daily Digest I, No. 155, 10 Aug 95 To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: OR Excerpts form OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 155, 10 August 1995 CHEMICAL WEAPONS USED IN CHECHNYA? A group of UN-sponsored humanitarian aid workers have discovered evidence suggesting that chemical weapons, possibly chlorine gas, were used during the Chechen conflict, AFP reported on 9 August. The aid workers found that a large number of inhabitants of the Avatury area, southwest of Grozny, are suffering from skin irritations which are "consistent with the use of toxic chemicals." Many trees in the area are defoliated. Witneses reported seeing yellow gas near ground level in the area in May. Similar evidence, in addition to containers resembling those used for chemical warfare, has also been found in other parts of Chechnya, the aid workers told AFP. REDUCED GOLD RESERVES INDICATE POSSIBLE FUNDING OF CHECHEN WAR. The Russian government has repeatedly claimed that the Chechen war and restoration costs are being financed solely within the federal budget's framework, but some speculate that the government resorted to selling gold to finance the war operation, Segodnya commented on 9 August. The newspaper noted that recent statistics from the State Committee for Precious Metals showed that on 1 July, gold reserves amounted to 278 tons, compared with 375 tons on 1 December 1994, prior to the large- scale warfare in Chechnya. Within seven months, gold reserves fell 97 tons. Since a troy ounce of gold (31.3 grams) during this period was fluctuating between $350-390 on world exchange markets, Russia could have gained no less than $1 billion (approximately 4.5-5 trillion rubles) if the gold was sold. -- Thomas Sigel, OMRI, Inc. IRAN TO AZERBAIJAN: NO TIES TO ISRAEL. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati warned Azerbaijan to stay away from Israel or risk instability in the Caucasus region, AFP reported on 9 August, citing IRNA. Velayati, who is visiting Almaty, made the remarks to Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev, who is also visiting Kazakhstan. Any further rapprochement between Azerbaijan and Israel will harm Islamic unity and "those governments themselves" the minister warned. Tehran's relations with Baku have been increasingly rancorous since Iran was forced out of the "deal of the century" to exploit oil in the Caspian Sea. Aliev is expected to visit Israel later this year. Tehran has not used such strong language with Turkmenistan, with which it has close ties, although Ashgabat maintains economic and political ties with Tel Aviv. -- Lowell Bezanis, OMRI, Inc. KAZAKHSTAN TO SELL URANIUM TO LIBYA. The government of Libya is prepared to purchase uranium from Kazakhstan, AFP reported citing the official Libyan news agency Jana on 9 August. No details of the agreement were available. Libya was recently critical of what the country perceived as secrecy surrounding the 600 kg of enriched uranium that the U.S. purchased from Kazakhstan in 1994 and appealed to the United Nations for the destruction of the material. The Libyan report did not specify how the country would use the uranium. -- Bruce Pannier, OMRI, Inc. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Thu Aug 10 19:05:45 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from CGL.BU.EDU by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA19260; Thu, 10 Aug 95 19:05:43 -0400 Received: by cgl.bu.edu (8.6.10/Spike-2.1) id TAA26083; Thu, 10 Aug 1995 19:05:42 -0400 From: simon1@cgl.bu.edu (Simon Streltsov) Subject: INFO-RUSS: immigration info To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu (Info-Jwss) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 19:05:42 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: text Status: OR Here is a new web site with US immigration laws and news: The Internet Immigration Law Center http://www.immlaw.com/immlaw/Welcome.html it has Main Menu Immigration Law Topics and Information Immigration News Bulletins (Under Construction) Pointers to Other Internet Immigration Law Resources (Under Construction) Simcha Streltsov to subscribe send Moderator of Russian-Jews List sub russian-jews simcha@shamash.nysernet.org to listproc@shamash.nysernet.org archives via WWW: gopher://shamash.nysernet.org:70/hh/lists/russian-jews home page: http://conx.bu.edu/~simon1 From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Fri Aug 11 19:43:02 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA27823; Fri, 11 Aug 95 19:43:00 -0400 Message-Id: <9508112343.AA27823@smarty.ece.jhu.edu> From: sasha@super.ece.jhu.edu (Alexander Kaplan) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 95 19:42:58 EDT X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (6.5.6 6/30/89) To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Subject: INFO-RUSS: IR-list is coming... Status: OR Dear IR-folks, It is again this time of a season: "updated-list-is-coming". I started this INFO-RUSS mailing list on Aug. 15'91 with about 40 addresses. A new (30-th) updated list of names&addresses (about 1100) will be broadcasted by me within next 24 hours. Last time I did it on Apr.30'95. These days, INFO-RUSS is getting four years old. My thanks to all of my "veteran" subscribers, who've been here from the very beginning, and to the rest of you; together we make much more than just a long list of people... As usual, I break the list into major domains of emigration: AMERICA (US+Canada), ISRAEL, and EUROPE (including UK). As my courtesy:-) to the "source" of emigration, I have an ex-USSR section. Finally, to make it easier for you to search for friends in far lands, I have also the "faraway" sections for AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, BRAZIL, MEXICO, TURKEY, and OTHERS. The veterans of IR-list will have noticed that South AFRICA has disappeared from the list as an "independent" entity: only two IR-fellas are left in there. Is the climate changing in there or something? Same about ARCTICA&ANTARCTICA: the only Antarctic IR-subscriber has moved to a warmer place. But "svyato mesto pusto ne byvaet": we have now TURKEY instead; it just exceeded the level "na troih". To me, this list of subscribers serves one of the major INFO-RUSS needs: people find each other, find old friends, colleagues, relatives, etc. Be lucky, my subscriber, too. Find somebody on this list to whom you would be happy to send a msg, "Hey, remember me?.." Be aware, please, the list is 79+ kb long. It must not be used for commercial or any other unauthorized purposes. --Best --Alex Kaplan, INFO-RUSS owner/coordinator P.S. For AOL subscribers. A few times I saw that AOL mail server brakes long files into smaller pieces (about 20 kb long) and delivers them piece-meal style. So, if you receive only a part of the total file, be patient and don't rush to me with your complaints, the rest of it may still be coming. From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Fri Aug 11 19:43:12 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA27835; Fri, 11 Aug 95 19:43:09 -0400 Message-Id: <9508112343.AA27835@smarty.ece.jhu.edu> From: sasha@super.ece.jhu.edu (Alexander Kaplan) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 95 19:43:09 EDT X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (6.5.6 6/30/89) Subject: INFO-RUSS: updated IR-list To: info-russ@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Status: OR This is an updated list of subscribers/addresses of INFO-RUSS net. The list is broken into geo-sections: AMERICA (US+Canada), ISRAEL, EUROPE (including UK), ex-USSR, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, BRAZIL, MEXICO, TURKEY, and OTHERS. Inside each of the sections the last names are listed in alphabetic (latin) order. If you find any error, please let me know. Alex Kaplan, INFO-RUSS owner/coordinator Copyright (C) 1991-95, A. E. Kaplan. All rights reserved. It is illegal to use this list for commercial or any other purposes unauthorized by this owner/coordinator. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AMERICA (US+Canada) The list itself is deleted to prevent it from copying for commercial purposes From INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Tue Aug 15 11:41:20 EDT 1995 Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request@smarty.ece.jhu.edu Precedence: bulk Received: from gatekeeper.mcimail.com by smarty.ece.jhu.edu (5.61/1.18jrs) id AA00066; Tue, 15 Aug 95 11:41:17 -0400 Received: from mailgate.mcimail.com (mailgate.mcimail.com [166.38.40.3]) by gatekeeper.mcimail.com (8.6.12/8.6.10) with SMTP id PAA02565; Tue, 15 Aug 1995 15:39:38 GMT Received: from mcimail.com by mailgate.mcimail.com id aa07099; 15 Aug 95 15:38 WET Date: Tue, 15 Aug 95 10:37 EST From: The Union of Councils for Soviet Jews <0004201773@mcimail.com> To: Info-Russ Subject: INFO-RUSS: From the UCSJ Message-Id: <40950815153704/0004201773NA5EM@MCIMAIL.COM> Status: O Action Alert Your overwhelming response to the Union of Council's request for a letter campaign to Uzbekistan officials on behalf of Iosif Koinov resulted in the rapid dismissal of his case. The Union of Councils is once again appealing to you to register your written protests regarding the cases of two Jews who have been arrested in the former Soviet Union and whose cases involve grave miscarriages of justice. We urge you to act swiftly and decisively. If there are any further questions please telephone, write, or E-mail the Union of Councils (the coordinates are listed at the end of this transmission). The cases of Semyon Livshits and Moisey Finkel follow: 1) SEMYON LIVSHITS: The case of Major Semyon Livshits, a Jewish prisoner falsely accused of espionage and rape, will be coming up for appeal within the next month and desperately requires action from the West. In 1990, while planning to emigrate to Israel, Livshits was arrested on charges of attempting to hijack a nuclear submarine for the Israeli secret service. When the hijacking charges did not hold up in court, he was then accused of participating in rape and robbery. Believing he had emigrated to Israel, the co-defendants in the case accused Livshits. Upon learning that he had been arrested, they recanted. Livshits's military trial has lasted four years already and, in an attempt to convict Livshits in any way possible, has been fraught with human rights violations as well as contradictions to Russian law itself. Mr. Livshits has suffered terribly in prison and is in poor health. The appeal proceedings will reconvene on August 29, 1995. We urge you to write Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, Russian Prime-Minister Viktor Chernomirdin and Vladimir Ilyushenko, Acting Chief Procurator of Russia so that this case will be dismissed. An example follows: Dear *** We are aware that the case of Semyon Livshits, a Russian-Jew wrongly accused of rape and robbery, will soon be heard on appeal. Mr. Livshits is innocent and is a victim of the former Soviet regimes's official policy of anti-Semitism. He has been in prison for four years and the trial has continued during that entire period. The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court in Moscow overturned the sentence and remanded the case, but the lower court in Vladivostok issued the exact same sentence of 10 years imprisonment. Mr. Livshits has suffered from innumerable human rights violations and is suffering terribly. In addition to the numerous procedural violations, witnesses presented against Mr. Livshits later recanted their accusations. We urge you to use your offices to demand that the case of Semyon Livshits be dismissed and that he be immediately released from prison. Sincerely, (your name) 2) MOISEY FINKEL Moisey Finkel was arrested in Moscow on August 4, 1994, allegedly for spying for the U.S. government. He was accused of transferring secret information to the American embassy while he was applying to for refugee status in March, 1994. Mr. Finkel is c