Back from America (impressions about the US)

"...Americans are very empathetic, because they know well what a terrorist attack is."

What do you remember?

"America for me was like a continuation of Karaganda. They met me at the airport and took me into Manhattan. They asked: 'Well, how do you like America? Isn't it striking?' And then I'm almost tossed from my seat by a pothole. I answered: 'The roads are the same as in Karaganda – I feel like I'm still at home'. What astonished me were those same terrible roads in Manhattan that we have.

"But in California I had the impression that I was watching a movie. Do you know the film 'Pretty Woman'? There I was, walking down the same street, standing in front of the same hotel. In Los Angeles I saw the governor of California, Schwarzenegger. He was in a luxurious black limousine. He had a police escort: a car and motorcyclists in front and behind. We had just got off a bus, by the crosswalk. Suddenly 2 motorcyclists stopped in front of us and blocked traffic in one direction. We couldn't cross the street, and waited for 10 minutes. Then Schwarzenegger’s car passed, and all the motorcyclists took off after him...

"America is a very comfortable country to live in. They have a completely different view of a person, their health and life. In New York, for example, the metro is very functional. No marble or murals such as in Moscow. They simply dig a ditch, put in the metal constructions, cover it with tiles, bury it, roll down the asphalt - and that's it. Then there are the specially equipped metro stations for wheelchairs.

"Just a year ago the Moscow metro opened a new station in Victory Park, the deepest one yet - with four escalators and not a single ramp for wheelchairs! In America they make a lot of accommodation for the handicapped. They can even ride their wheelchairs into buses! The first time I saw this, it was like watching a movie. The front door of bus is wide, and the driver had some kind of a sliding ramp. He even leaves the cab and helps the invalid to get in. Only after this can the remaining people enter the bus."

Did you go to the site of the September 11th tragedy?

"Yes. There was gigantic construction work to restore the area around the towers, because everything had been destroyed by the fire and shock wave. As they told me, the buildings had been built to withstand the impact of aircraft, but not the explosions. The metal frameworks had simply melted.

"On the site of the tragedy there will be a memorial, where they will place a plaque with a roster of all those who were killed. There was a competition throughout America for the plans for a new financial center, and a mock-up of the winning project was there.

"They showed me a steamboat that traveled between New Jersey and Manhattan, which for many on September 11th was their savior. When this all happened, people ran from the point of impact to the ferry boat. People in New Jersey who had boats went to Manhattan to rescue people.

"Many live in New Jersey and work in Manhattan, so the ferry has a big parking lot. My friend in New Jersey said that she realized the dimensions of tragedy when she saw how many cars remained in the lot on September 11th, because their owners were no longer alive."

Coincidence

Svetlana recalled with special warmth the 'former Soviets' who invited her to visit them. A family from Sacramento, Glenn and Viktoria Hegel, got in touch with Svetlana in the first days after the tragedy at Dubrovka, while she was still in Moscow. They created a special site on the Internet, where letters from those who wanted to support our compatriot arrived.

"It's a pity, that I couldn’t make it to Sacramento. Glenn and Viktoria showed me such concern. My trip to the states was 80% thanks to their help. Glenn called around to people in the states who could put me up, and spent some time showing me around. He thought up my route, we agreed on a timeframe, and he notified people.

"I visited New York, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia. It turned out that I was able to soak my feet in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

"At the end I was tired of dragging this large suitcase around with me. So I thought: 'that’s it, I can't bring any more'.

"I was rarely left alone; I always had a personal translator and driver. In Oklahoma City I felt like 'the moving red banner'. I lived in one place, and Americans would take turns, deciding among themselves who would take me somewhere and bring me back."

You did not know these people?

"No, they were people I didn't know. They all had kind words. They tried to entertain me, took me everywhere and fed me.

"I have the impression that it was Kazakhstan women exclusively who immigrated to Oklahoma City. The girl I lived with, Vera, was from here, and she had many friends also from Kazakhstan. They are, in essence, American wives, and in general, happy ones.

"I thought that Gubareva was a rare surname, but to my surprise I ran into a Svetlana Gubareva from Kazakhstan there, who also has a daughter (though a little younger than Sasha) and a fiancé from Oklahoma. When me met, Sveta told me how when she learned about this coincidence, she felt like she'd been at 'Nord-Ost'(the Moscow theater terrorists attack, where Svetlana's daughter Sasha and American fiance Sandy Booker died - ed.).

"We got together a lot, and I joked that Sveta was my best translator-driver. I continue to write her. I hope that we'll meet again."

Oklahoma City

"They say that New York City is not the real America, just as Moscow is not the real Russia. The genuine America, of course, is Oklahoma, Sandy's home state. The environment there is similar to Kazakhstan.

"As a gift, I brought a book about Kazakhstan with large illustrations. When Sandy's mother began to turn the pages, she exclaimed: 'Oh, this so is similar to our Oklahoma!' The same immense spaces. Whatever direction you look in, you can see right up to the horizon."

How were you received by Sandy's family?

"I was prepared for the fact that some may not have wanted to meet me, but everything turned out differently. They were warm and understanding. We did not discuss my visit previously. I called Jean from New York (the girls there helped me with my translation again). I said that, if she had no objections, I'd like to call on her when I got to Oklahoma City. She was interested, and said that I must come there when I arrived.

"We met several times, and I met Sandy's sister and brother. His sister took me to the airport when I was leaving. But the biggest surprise came when Sandy's ex-wife found me, and she and their daughter came with a pile of gifts."

When I was in the Soviet Union in '91, the Metro was fantastic, like walking through an art gallery. In '93 and '98, things got a little trashy for awhile, but by 2000 it was pretty much restored to its former glory.

Peterburg's and Kyiv's are pretty nice, but still nothing like Moscow's. All three cities dug their subways very deep as part of civil defense.

Russian's attitudes towards Americans have also had their ups and downs. Nowadays mostly down.

Back when they first opened things up, Russian were very friendly and curious, but lately...

Usually I would hear the someone - whose opinion I could care less about - had really admired America until Yugoslavia/Iraq/takeyourpick. I think it's due to the world-wide drumbeat of anti-Americanism that our own media perpetuates.

Even in Ukraine, which should know better, people would repeat the most outrageous cr*p and act surprised when I'd put my fist under the noses and tell them - the recently liberated inmates of the world's largest insane asylum - that they need not lecture a citizen of a 220 year-old democracy about 'freedom'.

Even in Kazakhstan - ruled by the same guy since Gorby's days - I had students whose first sentence they could put together was "I hate your president."

There's a huge category of jokes about Americans over there, whom they often call 'Amerikosy', and a popular comedian named Zadornov who makes a good living telling how fat, stupid, lazy, etc. Americans are.

Sveta claims it's all envy - a Slavic trait they can't shake.

Of course, compared to France and Germany lately, Russia does seems pretty friendly, and when you get outside of the big cities the attitudes change somewhat.

We've argued that point a million times. She insists that none of the hostages died because of the terrorists. Her fiance died from the gas, and that her unconcious daughter was left unattended on a bus, to be crushed to death under a pile of adults.

Bureaucrats in Russia, like anywhere else, have well-developed 'cover-yer-ass' reflexes. Their autopsies supposedly showed that 129 hostages died of a 'multitude of unfavorable factors', such as dehydration, previously morbid disease conditions, poor body positioning, etc.

Two people, one a 'walk-in' named Olga Romanova, and the other a police officer pretending to be a concerned parent, were definitely shot by the terrorists. What happened to the young man who tried to dismantle one of the bombs, and the 'general' the Chechnyans supposedly found in the audience on the balcony, is never explained.

I agree that the terrorists are to blame, but when our county sheriff's deadbeat deputy screwed up an arrest that turned into a hostage situation, and ended up getting himself shot in the bargain, the local voters canned the sheriff.

There's nothing wrong with getting rid of ineffective, criminally negligent law enforcement personnel.

Ms. Gubareva doesn't seem to be the only former hostage or hostage's family member who blames the government. Here are some other 'Nord-Ost' opinions:

Tatiana Lukashova, whose daughter Mariya Panova died at 'Nord-Ost':
"... I am offended that those who took upon themselves the responsibility for hundreds of lives still remain unpunished. The investigation doesn't go anywhere, they shot those who seized the theater, but those who poisoned people can't be touched. Here's a line from the judicial examination, JUDGE FOR YOURSELF: 'There is no information about the rendering of medical assistance to M.M. Panova'. Everywhere they assert that there were enough medics, and medicine, then why wasn't any medical assistance rendered?"
Alena Mikhailova, former hostage at 'Nord-Ost', whose husband perished there:
"... I also want to know WHOLE truth, ANY TRUTH - not just a select tidbit! I want the government (and the people representing it) to apologize, to recognize their unprofessional conduct, their errors and rudeness to those who survived, and to the loved ones of those who died. I want compensation, pensions, and privileges to be determined at the legislative level, so that it's not necessary to fight it out in courts for three years... So those who come after us have it easier in the courts, at the housing office, and in the hospitals and schools... And most important, I want the average person to understand that we are not splitting hairs, but it's just advantageous for the government to portray us as such. So that tomorrow the person who was blaming us for 'diverting time and money from universal problems', should he find himself in our shoes, doesn't have to go around in circles like we did."
Oleg Zhirov, whose wife and son were among the hostages. Natalya Zhirova died:
"In these three years I've tried to learn the truth, to obtain justice. Today I want to ask those who were killed to forgive me, that three years later the guilty parties are still unpunished, that their loved ones are still being humiliated, that terror victims are still deprived medical assistance and material support, and that hundreds of people are still dying from acts of terror."
Lyubov Burban, whose son Grigori Burban died at 'Nord-Ost':
"...Is it possible to not be terrified of this refined blasphemy - the international image of a nation is supported by a mountain of corpses, the bodies of its peaceful citizens?! ... A lie, packed up in a state secret, and privatized by the Kremlin, this is the result of the three year investigation into 'Nord-Ost'. Not knowing how to prove the absolute necessity for their assault on the theater, the kangaroo court has revealed the senselessness of this 'successful operation', and their monstrous high treason... 'Nord-Ost' and Beslan must become objects of international investigations. Such crimes do not have a statute of limitations!"
Tatiana Karpova, whose son Alexander Karpov perished at the theater:
"Three years since the act of terror at Dubrovka. These, perhaps, were the hardest, most terrible years of my life. The years of desperation, limitless humiliation, years of disappointment in our laws and justice, years of faith in the existence of a country that guarantees of a normal, human life destroyed, this is the country in which I live, and for which I have never-ending shame."
Zoya Chernetsova, whose only son Daniel perished at the theater:
"... Father Nikolai from our church spoke an untruth when he said that time heals all... I still remember everything. The heart still hurts just as bad, I still sleep poorly, and I still make the same rounds... The cemetery every Tuesday or Thursday, I go round there... To the grave of Ninochka Milovidova, she's first on the way, then to my son Daniel, then Vadim Medvedev's grave... Grief brought me together with these people. Three years ago I did not know the Milovidovs, though I lived on an adjacent street. Who was Nina Milovidova? A pretty, fourteen-year-old girl, who was by chance in this terrible theater together with my son, together with Vadim Medvedev, and everyone.... Who was Vadim Valentinovich Medvedev? He was a military man, who was there with his wife. Now I know his ailing parents, his tiny wife, and even his two sons who are drawn together with me in grief. Now I know the Karpov family, I know about Svetlana Gubareva's family, which was destroyed before it began... and many others... They support me in my fight against the cynicism of bureaucrats and judges.
"...During all these three years, I have the same questions twirling through my head: why? For what? Why? Why they did release the gas? Why did my son perish? Why me? Putin briefly answered all questions when he said: 'It just turned out that way, excuse me...' Yes, and so it turned out that way, but I don't forgive, because I don't know how I can live on, alone, on a monthly pension of 2016 rubles (about $80), and, thanks to Trunov, 1787 rubles (about $70) for a lost breadwinner...
"Once again I make the rounds... the cemetery... There are yellow birch leaves on Ninochka's grave, ripe chestnuts on Daniel's, the oak leaves rustle on Vadim's grave... Further on the stele of Transvaal Park. And further on? Further on, is Beslan."
Natalya and Vladimir Kurbatov, whose 13-year-old daughter Kristina Kurbatova perished at 'Nord-Ost':
"... She was only 13 years old. Her whole life had only just begun; there was so much ahead of her, so many interesting, unknown and excellent things to come. But the government officials decided to make our daughter, as they did 129 other hostages, into a victim of their political ambitions... There are no guilty persons, just some heroes who were awarded the highest state honors, although by secret edicts. Is this not truly shameful?
"... Kristina was the young actress of the musical 'Nord-Ost', and played the role of Katya Tatarinova. She will remain as such for us forever. We love her. We compare all our actions with what she would do, our dear girl. Forgive us, Kristyusha, that we could not safeguard you."
Victoria Zaslavskaya, whose 13-year-old son Arseni Kurilenko died at 'Nord-Ost':
"...Nothing, it seems, depends on us. Yes and probably it couldn't be otherwise. There were too few us there, when compared to the scale of our enormous city, our enormous country. Literally a hundred meters from the 'zone' of the tragedy, life went on, unburdened by this nightmare. There, on the other side of this cordoned-off block of fear and confusion, it was quiet and indifferent to the point of nausea..."

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