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It was also in Vilnius (Lithuania) that I saw my first ‘man of color’ in years. It would be lesson-learning, one of my strangest encounters in the Soviet Union. I would not see anything like it until much later when Porky & Bess was staged by an American troupe during the Khrushchev Era in Moscow. It happened [...] It was an age of suspicion. It was a time within the Soviet Union that all foreigners, especially an English-speaking foreigner and more so an “American” came under immediate suspicion by the NKVD. Americans and those who knew or had relatives in the West had to be shunned, after all, the USSR was surrounded by [...] There is talk about the present freely-elected government of the Republic of Armenia apologizing to those who suffered the indignation and down-right cruelty inflicted upon the repatriates. I, for one don’t need one. I felt that, despite the hardships and the discrimination, I came out of the foreboding turmoil a better person with a [...] Anyone who has read “The Repatriate – Love Basketball and the KGB” – knows my personal hatred for the Soviet agency ‘OVIR’, the agency charged with issuing exit visas. Not only did a Soviet citizen who applied for an exit visa from the USSR have to leap scores of obstacles and face many needless [...] There are so many stories that I have come upon during the research for my book, but the following ‘love story’ must be considered among the best. Christine K. was sixteen when she fell in love and later married Ara. Both had left their native land, America, and had repatriated to the Soviet Union in [...] During one of my many visits to Moscow I had met and befriended a Michigan State University language professor who, after listening to my story, asked whether he could be of any assistance to me. I asked if possible, would he contact my parents and tell them that I am in good health and in [...] In March, 1983, speaking to the members of the National Association of Evangelists in Orlando, Florida, President Reagan labeled the Soviet Union “The Evil Empire.” I sincerely believe that the president maligned a nation of freedom-loving people. Furthermore, it is one of my deepest beliefs that there are no ‘evil empires’. The People who make up a [...] He was born in Germany at the height of Hitler’s power. I was born in Detroit the year before the Great Depression. After World War II, he chose America and attended the University of Michigan, becoming a prominent architect. After World War II, I chose the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and became a teacher who earned prominence [...] “A teacher may forget a student; but a student will never forget a teacher.” I found that to be true over the years, for many of my former Soviet students have continued to keep in touch with me. One such student, who was on staff at the BBC in London, serving on the Russian Bureau until [...] |
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Affirmation of Red Disinformation
I was sitting alone in one of the pews of our church, in Spruce, Michigan, thumbing through the Bible, pausing to read from Isaiah. I was in a rare, melancholy mood, built up over the weeks by staging several ‘book talks’. I sought my escape in this sanctum, instead of joining most of the members [...]