I have a lot of letters that I wrote to our relatives in America – these have my impressions of the country at that time – 1996-97. They are on my computer, but not easily accessible due to format changes – however if you are interested in them, I can wor

I have a lot of letters that I wrote to our relatives in America – these have my impressions of the country at that time – 1996-97. They are on my computer, but not easily accessible due to format changes – however if you are interested in them, I can work on retrieving them.

Here is one sample we retrieved:

Feb. 25, 1996:

We’ve had a heat wave this week. It’s been in the 20s and 30s. Consequently, it was a slushy mess to walk in, and the trolleybus floors were terrible! We were thankful for our waterproof boots! There’s still lots of snow, and it froze again last night. Today everything that was still wet was a sheet of ice. Frozen is cleaner, though. Many people who live in the flats - the high rise apartments - have dogs - big dogs. They walk them around the neighborhood; another reason that frozen is better! We are wondering what it will be like in the summer!

Several weeks ago the team was invited to a special concert at the town concert hall, or Philharmonia. The building was beautiful. It was “Defenders of the Motherland Day”, better known as “Men’s Day”. One of our team drivers, Pavel, invited us because his son was playing. Three instruments were represented: accordion, guitar and a small guitar type instrument called a Balalaika; it’s strummed and sounds Italian. Anyways, these 15-17 year olds were incredibly talented. We felt like we were at a big city concert with professionals, but there was a small attendance. The 1st half was solos and duets; the 2nd half an orchestra played, with these traditional Russian instruments. It was probably a 50 piece orchestra, and the sound was full and beautiful. The accordions sounded like the woodwinds, and the Balalaikas sounded like violins. There were a couple students who were incredibly talented. I can’t begin to describe it. Our teammate Stefanie babysat, which was a blessing.

We’ve had plenty of heat and hot water all week. This was a blessing. Wed. I was at Brigid’s flat, and they had NO water from noon till 7 PM.

Saturday and Wednesday I went to training from 9-12 and Bill stayed home. Then I went out shopping with Brigid. It’s quite an adventure, and fun now that we know our way around some. Wednesday we ate lunch at the pizza place. Saturday I had a Dove Bar from a kiosk. It cost me $2, but it was a special treat. I found some things for the flat and found diaper wipes at a drug store for a good price! I also found fabric softener from Hungary; that will make Patrick’s diapers not so scratchy. We found one little supermarket that is bright and cheerful, they sell mostly frozen Western items. As we stood in there, the Statler Brothers were singing “Flowers on the Wall”!

We also went to the central market. On Saturdays there are even more vendors lined up outside. You never know what you’ll find. I bought 2 little round woven rugs made by babushkas, one for under $1 and one for $1. 50. I think of the hours these rugs took them to make and how little they get for them - less than what I paid for my Dove bar.

People stand outside, all over town, hawking their wares. Many are babushkas, with just a few potatoes, beets or cabbage for sale. Some have clothing items, one in each hand, and one hanging from their coat. When it’s cold they shift their weight from foot to foot to try and keep warm. At open markets some vendors sell stuff out of the back of straight trucks. Items range from leather bags from India, slippers, boots, candy, meat, eggs, butter, oil, etc. There are some things you can find in your local store, but there are others that you have to get at the market, or that you might find cheaper at the market.

Every morning we hear a horn beeping. It is the milk truck. It parks and people bring their little milk pails and buy their milk. We use our landlady’s pail as a flour canister. We also hear a beating sound outside, all the time. People have brought their area rugs outside. They usually hang them over a line, but when it is very cold and snowy, they actually lay them on the ground, cover them with snow and then beat and brush them off. It must provides quite a workout! We have a rug beater if we decide to go that route, but we did buy a vacuum cleaner.

We are eating lots of potatoes. Our main meat is the chicken quarters from America, or ‘noshkeebusha’ - Bush’s legs, as they call them here. They are really nice. I make lots of soup, too. And we are enjoying the bread. We’ve found the Central Bakery has good bread. They have a little cafe there, and Bill has gone there for coffee and lunch with John Erdel.

Bill & I both feel at peace about being here. It has proven to be a good experience for us as a family. We look forward to the months ahead and the ways we will be used in people’s lives.

March 5, 1996:

We had a circus here in Kostroma last week - “White Tigers” - we took the boys to it. Most cities in Russia have a special arenas just for circuses - like a stadium, only round like the big top, and enclosed, with bathrooms, etc. There is a very small circle for the acts to perform in. We had 3rd row seats and saw many great acts - people on skateboards, with jumpropes, jugglers, horseback riders, elephants, monkeys and of course white tigers! It was fantastic. Patrick was mesmerized. We also had cotton candy and popcorn - and Nicholas had M& Ms and got a yellow balloon animal - yellow is his favorite color, he says, ‘because I’m so special’.

They don’t sell unpopped popcorn over here. We’ve found popped corn at kiosks. We brought 2 four pound bags with us, so we have it every so often for a treat.

I made cinnamon rolls for Tuesday AM, they were a big hit. I used 2 cups of my precious powdered sugar to ice them! (Powdered sugar has been seen here, but not recently) For supper with Sam & Kathy we had oven fried chicken and fried potatoes. We’ve been enjoying lots of fried potatoes - the boys like them as well as french fries. I suppose we use less oil in my nonstick skillet! We figure that our plentiful exercise and lack of other fatty pre-packaged foods will compensate for the fried potatoes. But to appease my guilt I finally boiled potatoes last night!

This afternoon we had an incident that will go down in the Rieth hall of fame. We found Patrick and Nicholas both eating dirt out of Klavdia’s plants in our bedroom window! Nicholas came running, saying, ‘Patrick’s eating dirt!! ’ Sure enough, there was dirt all over the sill and the bed. But upon closer examination, we forced Nicholas to show his tongue and determined that he was guilty too. The penalty was no wrestling with Dad on the bed - that is something they do every night.

Reference form

If you are ready to write and publish your own memories of the Perestroika period, then you can use this profile. The questionnaire is recommendatory. Only personal data is required. By sending memories, you consent to their publication in the conference proceedings. The presentation style is possible in any way, but strictly within the framework of the norms of the Russian literary language. The organizing committee reserves the right to select materials. In addition to memories, essays, diaries, letters and other types of personal documents are accepted for consideration.

Personal data:

1. Name

2. Year of birth (day and month not required)

3. Education

4. Place of study (if you studied at several educational institutions, indicate all)

5. Place of work in 1980 - 1991

Basic data:

1. Were you a member of the party at the beginning and end of Perestroika?

2. Marital status in 1980 - 1991

Supporting questions:

1. Do you remember when and under what circumstances you first heard the word “Perestroika” in the meaning of “reform of the state and society”?

2. When and how did you come to realize that changes are really taking place in the country?

3. What events in your personal fate (positive, negative, neutral) do you associate with Perestroika?

4. What did you think about the Communist Party and its members at that time? Have you personally encountered party leaders at the local level? Did you have the “right connections”? How often did you have to use them?

5. What did you think at that time about the goals of Perestroika and its prospects? Has this opinion changed?

6. How did you feel about demonstrations and political anniversaries? Has your attitude changed compared to an earlier time?

7. Have you noticed the growth of religiosity and the activation of representatives of various faiths during these years? If so, what was it expressed in? How did you rate this?

8. In your opinion, what changes have occurred in the field of education? How can you characterize them?

9. Have you and your family been touched by a rehabilitation policy for victims of political repression? If not, did you know about it? How did you rate it?

10. Do you remember any exhibitions, concerts or other creative events held in your city (region, country)?

11. Have you had to purchase cooperative products or use their services? What is your impression? What did you think of people with an “entrepreneurial spirit”?

12. How did you survive the economic crisis? What did you have to do to feed your family in short supply?

13. How often did you buy goods brought in from abroad? Was it easy to buy them?

14. Did you have a summer house? If yes, how much time did you spend there? What was the role of your own crop in your family, “food basket”?

15. What did you do during your leisure hours?

16. How did the workflow proceed at the place of your work / service? What has changed over the years in the field of your professional activity?

17. Have you followed fashion? Did you feel the influence of the western fashion industry? If yes, what was it expressed in?

18. How did you feel about the anti-alcohol/prohibition campaign? How much did it influence family holidays?

19. How often did you watch TV? Did you have your favorite TV shows? What new things did you see on TV during the Perestroika years, which you did not have before?

20. Did you write and read local and all-union newspapers? Have you noticed the real publicity?

21. Have there been changes in relations between men and women during these years?

22. Do you remember any jokes of that time?

23. Have you been abroad during these years? Have you met with foreigners during these years? If yes, how did this happen? What did you think of them?

24. Have you encountered KGB representatives? If yes, how did this happen? What did you think of these contacts?

25. Have you encountered refugees from the union republics? What did you think of the conflicts in these republics?

26. Have you encountered criminal acts against yourself and your loved ones during these years? If so, have law enforcement agencies been able to stop unlawful actions and punish criminals?

27. Have you participated in elections at various levels? Who did you vote for? How did the elections go? How did earlier Soviet elections differ from elections nowadays? Are you disappointed in the applicants or not?

28. How did you assess the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan? Among your acquaintances or relatives were there any participants in the war in Afghanistan?

29. How did the coup and the collapse of the USSR go for you? What emotions did they evoke then?

30. How do you rate Perestroika in 1980 - 1991 then and how do you rate it now? Has something changed in your assessment?

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