Dear CCI Friends,

The article below describes, and reflects on, what could be an emerging trend, the return of ex-pats and tourists to Russia.  Several people describe their personal experiences and reasons.  

Are we reaching a point of a growing interest in peace, or a growing detachment from the war?  As always we welcome your thoughts on this subject.

Sincerely,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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MEDUZA: WHY ARE WESTERN TOURISTS AND EXPATS RETURNING TO RUSSIA?

June 6, 2024, Meduza

July 7, 2024, Natylie’s Place: Understanding Russia 

By Alex Mitchell

New Year’s Eve 2023. My friends and relatives in Russia were dejected. Nobody felt like celebrating. It was my first time back since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the war fatigue was palpable everywhere.

In 2022, few foreign tourists came from the West — except small numbers of curious “war tourists” who wanted to capture the Russian reality for social media. Official figures show that tourism fell by about 30 percent year-on-year, with the number of people entering the country on tourist visas dwindling to 200,000 (one tour operator estimated that organized tourism fell by 90 percent).

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Dear CCI Friends,

If the author featured below is correct, we are waiting in vain for state sponsored diplomatic solutions to the critically dangerous situations facing us.  

And that raises the question:  if not us, who?

Please let us know your thoughts.

Sincerely,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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 “The Funeral of Old School Diplomacy”

May 15, 2024
Valdai Club/Literaturnaya Gazeta

Translated by Geoffrey Roberts

Will Russia return to dialogue with the West? Or is humanity sliding from a cold war to a “hot” one? What is the essence of the Ukrainian crisis? Will we arrive at a multipolar world? Can Russia be split by inter-ethnic differences? We talk about these pressing political topics with politologist, Richard Sakwa, the leading British expert on Russia, Emeritus Professor at the University of Kent, and a member of the Valdai international discussion club.

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Dear CCI Friends,

We are all acutely aware of the constant provocations that have reached dire and potentially catastrophic escalation.  In the midst of this however, life continues and people refuse to stop living.   In that light, we would like to share a brighter story with all of you.

In Yakutsk, although geographically far from the front lines, people await word of family and friends on the front lines.  While doing so, people continue their day-to-day lives as well as enthusiastically prepare for hosting the 8th Children of Asia International Sports Games, Yakutsk 2024.

Pete Clark currently resides in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and shares the mood and the history of this event in the article below.  He has lived in Russia since 2004. He was born in Peoria, IL, and is a dual U.S. and Russian citizen. Pete and his wife Katerina own and operate a 12 room bed and breakfast in Yakutsk and are actively engaged in supporting cancer survivors in Yakutsk. More information about the bed and breakfast can be found on https://bravo-hotel.ru. More information regarding the cancer support group can be found on https://antirak-ykt.ru (only in Russian).

Sincerely,

The Directors
Center For Citizen Initiatives

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VIII Children of Asia Games 2024
Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia

June 15, 2024

By Pete Clark

The first Children of Asia Games were held in Yakutsk in 1996.  The first President of the Sakha Republic, Mikhail Nikolaev, was the initiator of the games to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the modern Olympic games.

The opening ceremony of the games will be held in Yakutsk on June 26, 2024.  The first day of competition actually will start on June 25, and the last day and closing ceremony will be on July 7, 2024.

The summer games are held every four years, just prior to the Summer Olympic games.  In the past, at least some of the athletes who compete in the Children of Asia Games go on to the Olympic games, so these athletes are using the Children of Asia Games as a kind of “tune-up”.  However, since Russian athletes are not being allowed to compete in the Olympic games under the National Flag, I am not sure how many, if any, Russian athletes from the Children of Asia Games will go on to Paris.  Some of them will no doubt compete at the World Friendship Games in Moscow and Ekaterinburg that will take place from September 15, 2024 to September 29, 2024.

According to the official news releases, more than 1,000 athletes from 40 countries are expected to compete in 24 sports during the competition.  The city of Yakutsk has prepared 16 venues for the competition.  Tickets for the popular opening ceremony are already on sale, but I think the ticket sales for the closing ceremony won’t begin until May 26, 2024.  I have not yet seen any announcement regarding the sale of tickets to individual events yet, but I anticipate that these will be on sale soon if not already.

Anyone interested in knowing more about the Children of Asia Games can get more information at the official web site, which does have an English version:  Yakutsk2024
 
Ysyakh, or the Yakutian New Year, will be celebrated on different dates in different regions of the Sakha Republic from June 10 to June 25.  The traditional date for the celebration is on June 21, which is the summer solstice, but local government authorities have “moved” the date, usually to a weekend near the June 21 date.  I am expecting that the biggest Ysyakh celebration will be near Yakutsk, but outside the city, and most likely will be on the weekend of June 22-23.  So the Children of Asia Games will be immediately following the Ysyakh celebrations.

The native people of the Sakha Republic have a number of Shamanistic rituals and mythology as part of the culture.  A lot of the cultural rituals and mythology is actually also part of Native American culture as well, and the similarities, for those who are familiar with Native American culture, will be quite striking.  For Northern people, where the sun plays such an important role in every day life, the summer solstice is the obvious event demarking the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.

Both Ysyakh and the Children of Asia Games will bring in a lot of people to the city, and hotel rooms are already hard to find for this period.  I think our bed and breakfast was 100% booked over 6 months ago.  However, if any CCI members do want to come to Yakutsk during this period, I will do what I can to help.

Dear CCI Friends,

You are all aware of the extraordinary interference (ostensibly by the US State Department) of Scott Ritter’s right to travel outside of the US which occurred at JFK airport as he was about to board a commercial airliner recently. “Extraordinary” is not applied to this situation casually; no commenters we have been able to find have ever heard of such an attack on the personal liberty of a US citizen engaged in such a common, legal activity.

While we wait to hear more details on this event we are sharing the following video with you and ask that you keep this in mind:  Scott Ritter was going to Russia to engage in the same activity that many of us – CCI citizen diplomats – have participated in, citizen-to-citizen meets-ups in cities and regions all over Russia.   

Please let us know your views on this situation.

Sincerely,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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“How Dangerous Is MICIMATT?”

June 4, 2024

Judge Napolitano interviews Ray McGovern on his Judging Freedom Livestream Broadcast in the immediate aftermath of Scott Ritter’s passport confiscation by the US State Department.

[Continue to Video Recording of the Livestream Interview]

Dear CCI Friends and Colleagues,

Early June brings two anniversaries significant for their meaning in the history of US/Russia relations.  The first is June 6.  Eighty years ago this June 6, the Western allies – the United States, United Kingdom and Canada – went ashore in Normandy and joined their Eastern ally – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – in the final push to eliminate the horror of Nazism from Europe. 

A mere seventeen years later, the US and the USSR found themselves not only no longer allies but on the verge of mutual annihilation over the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba.

How did such a thing happen?  Would the enmity have occurred if there had been no Manhattan Project, no development of nuclear weapons anywhere by anyone?  We were certainly not deadly enemies before WWII; did fear of the weapon we created make us so after?

June 10 is the anniversary of the famous American University commencement speech by President John F. Kennedy in which he patiently and eloquently made the case for peace with the USSR a mere eight months after the two countries pulled back from the brink of nuclear war.

Today we find ourselves confronted by the prospect of a new D Day – Doomsday.  It sounds almost too melodramatic, doesn’t it?  But if you will read the article by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, below, you will begin to feel the real immediacy of our situation. 

And after that, we hope you will take the time to listen to Kennedy’s greatest speech – perhaps the greatest speech ever given by a US President.  Some recent polls suggest over 60% of Americans believe World War III is inevitable; they are wrong, such deadly folly is not inevitable.  Kennedy taught us that.

Sincerely,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initatives

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How Close Are We To ‘Midnight?’

May 30, 2024

By Jeffrey D. Sachs

The overriding job of any U.S. president is to keep the nation safe. In the nuclear age, that mainly means avoiding nuclear Armageddon. 

Joe Biden’s reckless and incompetent foreign policy is pushing us closer to annihilation. He joins a long and undistinguished list of presidents who have gambled with Armageddon, including his immediate predecessor and rival, Donald Trump. 

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 His Words, His Voice

June 10, 1963

By Former President John F. Kennedy

[Continue to John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Audio File]