Letters to the Editor

To the Editors:

My granddaughter saw the article about the Hermitage Cats in Russian Life magazine [May/June 2003] and enjoyed it very much. She would like to make a small contribution to help the program to support the cats who take such good care of the Hermitage.

Please tell me how she can make her small contribution to the program to support the Russian cats in the Hermitage.

Thank you,

Charles Steffens

Glastonbury, CT

Mr. Steffens:

We are sure that your granddaughter’s sympathies are shared by many who read that article. Anyone who wants to help can get directly in touch with the press service of the Hermitage, emailing Masha Borovskaya or Elena Getmanskaya at:

[email protected]

– The Editors

To the Editors:

I have visited St. Petersburg nine times in the past five years, principally to see a Russian friend. The last time I was there, my friend took me to the zoopark. I was so disturbed by the tiny, cramped-up cages which some animals have to endure, I left St. Petersburg with a very bad memory. Particular in my memory is the wolf pacing back and forth in a cage barely eight feet long. This memory haunts me even now.

It just seems to me that some of the money which was used to renovate the central part of the city could be used to enlarge the cages of the city’s other residents!

Cecelia Kelly

Cardiff, CA

Ms. Kelly,

We could not agree more that this is a desperate problem. As it turns out, in a coming issue of Russian Life, we will be highlighting the condition of animals that live in Moscow and St. Petersburg alongside the human residents. Thankfully, not all the stories are as heartbreaking as the one you tell.

– The Editors