Dear CCI friends,
Dr. Glenn Rennels, an anesthesiologist from Palo Alto, CA , traveled with us to Russia in September. Knowing we wouldn’t have scheduled cultural tours, he took this trip in his own hands and purchased tickets for the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg before leaving home. Glenn sleuthed around and came up with other personal interests he wanted to pursue, which you will see below. The most remarkable one was his intention to locate Andrei Nekrasov, Russia’s avant-garde dissident filmmaker. He did locate him and after a lengthy effort, we hosted Andrei for a fascinating evening in St. Petersburg. Glenn proved to us all that one can have both classical culture in addition to a full schedule of investigating and learning from Russians everyday. Granted it takes not needing much sleep!
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
St. Petersburg reminds me of Boston/Cambridge in Massachusetts:
• Rivers run through town, so you’re often crossing bridges.
• Historic buildings are everywhere.
• Major universities draw young people.
Meet professor of linguistics Ilya Utekin (tan coat) who I approached as he exited a lecture hall of St. Petersburg State University. Hearing my story — that I was on a pilgrimage to honor a legendary Russian mathematician named Markov — professor Utekin volunteered to chaperone me for a while. He took me to a campus museum and over lunch he explained Chomsky linguistic theory and Piaget linguistic theory. We talked a bit about politics, and about our families. His dad teaches pathophysiology, which is right up my alley as a doctor. I was extremely grateful to him for making an unplanned day so fulfilling. I plan to host Ilya in California someday soon.
The next day, a meeting was arranged with four students from St. Petersburg State University. They fielded our questions, and they asked some of their own.