Dear CCI Friends,
We have lots of September trip information to share with you –– YouTubes of experts, regional city experiences written by our travelers, and numbers of YouTubes about life within Russia today.
I’d hoped to start our September “tell all” with President Gorbachev’s YouTube! However, there’s a technical glitch that needs to be dealt with. This may take up to a week, so we will share some of our regional reports in the interim.
Saratov, Russia
Formerly a Closed City due to being a Military Production Site
We had no personal connections with Saratov. Months earlier an unknown Saratov woman, Olga Andrianova, emailed saying she learned that CCI would bring Americans to Russia, and she lobbied me to include Saratov. Further she offered to organize the stay of three Americans herself. Feeling her strong desire over email, Saratov became a regional city.
Let’s take a journey with Mike Abkin (an early retiree from an engineering career and first time traveler to Russia) and his partner Louise Karr, a psychologist. Nancy Madison, also an engineer in regulatory consulting from San Jose was the third traveler to Saratov.
Below is a link to Mike’s report about what happened! There are lots of photos embedded in his report and a wealth of insights about today’s Russia. Mike dutifully checked all facts and events with Louise and Nancy and forwarded this terrific journal shortly after coming back to the states.
Enjoy!
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
Russia Reflections
By Mike Abkin