Letters to the Editor

Striking back at empire

To the Editors:

I agree with Mr. Sidorenko (Russian Life Readers’ Letters, June 1997) that Russia has a right to its “vital interest” in its own neighborhood, but so do all nations in that ‘hood, or in any ‘hood. Ukraine has a vital interest. Latvia has a vital interest. Everybody has a vital interest. So what’s the point?

As to his third “fact,” that Russia and the neighboring countries existed “as one country for centuries,” what is his definition of “country”? “Empire” is the proper word there. The neighbors were conquered and forced to be part of Moscow’s hegemony. The tsarist-turned-Soviet empire was never one big happy family. Otherwise, explain the constant, desparate, vicious Russification in, say, Ukraine.

The revisionists are still at work.

Denis Wichar

Vancouver, WA

Jewish connections

To the Editors:

In addition to the several famous Jews enumerated in your article The Yeast of Russia [Russian Life, April 1997], it should be noted that Russian Jewry pressed close to the Romanov throne in the person of Matilde Kshesinskaya, prima ballerina of the Marinsky Theater and intimate of Czarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, the future Nicholas II. The eighteen-year-old ballet star, of Polish Jewish descent, was introduced to Nicholas by his father, Alexander III, at an after-theater dinner in Krasnoe Selo. She later married the Tsar’s first cousin, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, in Paris after they had both fled the Bolshevik revolution. She died at the age of 99 (1971) and her grandson, and engineer, lives in St. Petersburg.

It should also be noted that Dmitrii Grigorevich Bogrov, Stolypin’s assassin [Russian Life, April 1997], was of Kievan Jewish ancestry. His grandfather had converted to Russian Orthodoxy and his father was a member of the Kiev Nobles’ Assembly. The day after Bogrov had fatally wounded Stolypin, the Kiev railroad station was jammed with the city’s Jews, eager to depart out of fear of reprisal against them. The situation proved calm, however, and no one was harmed.

Stephen R. de Angelis

Bronxville, NY

Just the facts

To the Editors:

In my June issue of Russian Life, page 3, there is a wonderful block of info entitled “Russia Facts.” There is no indication of the source of this information. Can you provide me a source/sources? Would really appreciate it.

Gary Liddle

By email

Dear Gary,

We would love to provide you with a list of sources, but, well, we can’t. The majority of this information (a regular part of our irregular online supplement to the magazine, RusLife) was “cherry picked” while trolling the internet and a variety of different print resources. Since we had no intention of citing the figures as anything other than anecdotal, we were not diligent about noting sources from which these interesting facts were plucked.

The best we can do is point you in the direction of some of our favorite information sources. Start out by visiting the superb Friends & Partners web site (www.friends-partners.org), where, it so happens, Russian Life’s web site is also located. There are many good info sources there. Including a link to the Radio Liberty daily newswire and to Johnson’s list, two of the best primary and secondary sources of information on things Russian. For print, in English, nothing beats The Moscow Times’ biweekly business magazine, Russia Review (honest, we’re not just saying that because we distribute it). Phone 800-639-4301 to get a sample issue or subscription.

– The Editors

Russophilia survives

To the Editors:

I wanted to send a note, actually I’ve been wanting to for a very long time, to say how much I enjoy your magazine. I have been subscribing since I was in college (since 1979-1980) and have been through your many changes with you, including the temporary halt in publication during perestroika. I was happy to see the magazine return. I am especially pleased with the recent overhaul of the layout of the magazine, particularly the smaller size.

Not only have I travelled to Russia (pre-perestroika), I studied Russian  langauge, history, and culture throughout my college years. Although I do not utilize my knowledge thereof, I do like to keep up with things-Russian by subscribing to your publication. My favorite feature in each issue is Survival Russian ... to help me keep up my language skills. Russia and the Russians will always hold a special interest for me and your magazine helps me to continue that interest.

Keep up the good work!

Pam Kraus

By email

Pam,

Thank you for your kind words, which, as we have been taught via Survival Russian, even a cat likes.

You and other fans of Mikhail Ivanov’s Survival Russian may be interested to know that we have compiled the last two years of these columns into a book of the same name. The book can be ordered through Access Russia (800-639-4301) for $10 plus s&h, and will ship in October. We expect it to be a best seller!

– The Editors

ERRATA

In the July 1997 issue of Russian Life, a photo on our Russian Calendar page was identified as Mark Antokolsky. Unfortunately, through an error in communicating with archives, the photo printed was actually of the poet Pavel Antokolsky. 

In the June 1997 article on tracing your Russian roots, the incorrect phone number was run for the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. The correct phone is: 402-474-3363.