Nostalgia Canaglia

What do I think of when someone says “Moscow Olympics”?

First, the heart-breaking Mishka (Bear), flying away during the closing ceremony to the lyrics of Alexandra Pakhmutova’s poignant song (“Good-bye, our tender Misha, return to your fairy tale forest”)... Clean streets, a sunny summer, no traffic jams, a feeling of security...

I was finishing up my second year at the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages. I was young, in love and a complete fool. My girlfriend Olga (she was in the teaching faculty, I was in the interpreting faculty) and I were undergoing a difficult training with a seasoned Intourist guide, being taught how to take French tourists around Moscow.