DIARY TRIP TO MOSCOW/PRAGUE JANUARY 15-22, 1995 Sunday, 15 January on boarding the Lufthansa flight, Frankfurt to Moscow, we had to identify our bags on the runway, next to the airplane. I did so. On arriving in Moscow (6:50 p.m.) however, my two bags did not appear. A Lufthansa employee informed me that the plane to Moscow had been overweight, and some bags were held back in Frankfurt. They would come to Moscow on the next flight, they said, at 10:10 that night, and then be delivered. The airport was dark and fairly dingy, a good introduction to the realities of Moscow. I found an agent who accompanied me to the crowded welcoming area, where I met Professor Antonov, assuring him that I had arrived; and securing the address of my residence to be. I then went back into the baggage area, filled out the forms for misplaced bags, and returned to meet Prof. Antonov. He is an amiable man, age 55, with some halting English. An older colleague of his, who spoke no English, drove us to Moscow in his car. As it turned out, I was staying in a "visiting faculty" apartment at Moscow University, inside the extraordinary/hideous highrise built by prisoners (German or Russian, depending on who tells the story). On entering, Antonov discovered that the elevators were not working. We climbed the six floors (again, space marked by grime and irrepair). one of his graduate students, Alla, and a phalanx of older women who appear to run the place, met us at the top. I was shown to my "flat," two small, dorm-like rooms sharing a toilet and shower. Each room had a television and refrigerator. I paid $120 (which turned out to cover the four days). ‘The level of sanitation was low, by American standards (but above average, by Moscow standards). Fortunately, I had one change of underwear in my carry-on bag, so I showered (sending a cockroach scurrying away), changed, and’went to sleep. I was glad to have my five bottles of American drinking water along, since no potable water was immediately available.Monday, 16 Januar: After a fitfull night's sleep, Antonov arrived at my door promptly at 9:30 a.m., accompanied by Tania Sokolova, a graduate Student who would serve as my interpreter for most of the visit. A few words on Antonov: His interest in my work, I concluded was genuine. He is Chairman of the Sociology Department at Moscow University (in the Russian context, comparable to holding the same post at Harvard). His influence extend widely. I found his own views on family and demographic fissues to be sound. Attached is a statement he issued regarding the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Family, which is very close to my own views. On the abortion issue, his views are complex. He opposes abortion, but says it is impractical at this {ime to push the issue in Russia; about 90 percent of adult Russian women have had an abortion. To call for legislation implicitly defining them as murderers would be difficult now, he says. Currently, he is focusing his work on the startling demographic disaster overtaking Russia (more on that later). A few words on Tania Sokolova. Like many of her generation that I met, her eyes are turned westward. Whilé a sociology student, she hopes to work in business. At present, she holds a part-time job with the Mars Candy corporation. She visited the United States in 1988 as a participant in a "Samantha Smith" camp in Maine. Antonov had arranged for use of a University van and driver. A 14-year-old girl, daughter of sociologist Victor Medco) accompanied us. She was sweet and shy, and studying English in School. We drove around Moscow for a while, then stopped at Pizza Hut(!) for breakfast. We continued the driving tour, including several traffic snarls caused by abandoned vehicles. About eight-ten inches of snow covered the ground. "Snow fog" would fill the sky. The air itself was hazy brown, suffering from pollution resembling that of California, two decades back. The Russians use little, if any, salt to melt ice, and the roads and sidewalks are treacherous: ‘several inches of ice covered by the morning's snow is a common walking surface. At 1:30 p.m., we arrived back at the Sociology Department, Moscow State University, a "modern" glass building desperately in need of cleaning, fresh’ paint, and catch-up maintenance. Several of the faculty members had prepared a nice lunch, featuring Salmon caviar sandwiches (among other types). Those attending included Victor Medcov and Tatiana Selezneva, along with a half- dozen graduate students. I gave.a short talk on the Institute, and we drank several toasts.3 My baggage had still not arrived, and morning calls by me to tufthansa had proved futile (the Lufthansa contacts were very bureaucratic--"not my department" and so on). Antonov mobilized his whole department toward recovering my bags, even to the point of posting graduate students on hourly shifts at the University guard station, in case Lufthansa delivered the bags. While eating, word Game that one bag was in Moscow, and the other still in Frankfurt. Both would be delivered at 6:30 p.m., that evening. At 3 p.m., we walked to another building, and met with the Director of the University's Center for Population Study, Valery Elizarov. We shared a bottle of Vodka, while discussing the causes of Russia's demographic implosion: the decline in the birth rate to 1.4, and the soaring death rate. Elizarov believed that these developments were caused by the difficult transition from a planned economy to a market system, and that the figures would improve once the transition had been worked through. (At a later time, Antonov told me that he disagreed with Elizarov. Antonov held that Russia's demographic implosion could be traced further back, to about 1980. He stressed the full collapse of the home economy and household production, the widespread turn to abortion, and social stress prior to Communism's fall, for the birth rate decline. "Behavorial factors" lay behind the rising male deathrate, ranging from vodka consumption[!] to an unsustainable urban society.) We reboarded the University van, and the driver took us to the apartment home of Ivan Schevcsenko. He is an artist (painter) of considerable skill. He also is Chairman of The Orthodox Brotherhood of Scientists and Specialists ("FAVOR"). In the last election, he stood as a Pro-Family candidate for election to the Dumas, under the Platform, "Family-Land-Home: Fatherland," urging the renewal of family production and payment of a family wage to men. TI liked this fellow. He had the beard and eyes of a young Solzehitsyn. Schevcsenko is married and has, I believe, five children crowded into a very small apartment, along with thirty or so paintings (many of large size), icons, antique Russian furniture, and a "New Year's Tree" (our Christmas tree). He is also a photographer (and very able), as well as a friend of American jazz (there were a number of photos of American jazz greats playing in his apartment). Schevesenko wanted to talk "business." He sought help in organizing/recruiting for an international conference on the family planned that summer at an Orthodox monestary, near Moscow. I replied that I had been thinking, myself, about working to convene a conference of fairly compatible "pro family" groups from across the globe, to serve as a kind of informal Congress of Families with the purposes of (1) defining the common pressures on families in modern countries, vis-a-vis state and ec 1, and (2) drafting an "appeal" or "declaration" to the governments of4 the world, including common demands. Such a conference, however, would not be possible until mid-1996 at the earliest, I said. After considerable discussion, I agreed to begin sounding out other organizations regarding interest and contemplating issues of location and cost. They agreed to send me a draft of a possible program, for my response. Following more vodka toasts, we departed, returning to Moscow University via the Metro system. It's a fine old subway, and the stations are unusually elaborate. But I was tired. Reaching my room--great joy!--I found my bags awaiting me. My 28 hours in Moscow without fresh clothes, shampoo, etc., had come to an end. I went to sleep, content with the world. Tuesday, 17 January Antonov and Tania picked me up at 9:30 a.m. He had secured a university van again, so we had breakfast at McDonalds(!), and then went to the Kremlin. It was very cold and very windy, with two inches of fresh snow on the ground. I regretted having forgotten my scarf, back in Rockford, but otherwise kept warn. We visited two of the Cathedrals in the Kremlin: The Annunciation; and St. Michaels. Both were stunning. They asked if I wanted to see Lenin's Mausoleum, and I said yes. So we walked back through the Kremlin gate, and circled around to Red Square. There was no line, but a steady flow of people to see the old Bolshevik. Tania agreed with the view that "God has punished Russia for leaving Lenin unburied," a punishment that would end only when they gave him a decent burial, back in his St. Petersburg home. Generally, I sensed that Lenin still enjoys some respect, while Stalin is blamed for ugliness and mass death and Brezhnev for backwardness and inefficiency (the Russians kept referring to his time, 1965-85, as "the period of stagnation"). Moscow, itself, seems most like a dream, where inconsistent or even contradictory things exist side-by-side (e.g, the neon "Marlboro" sign with the Red Stars atop the Kremlin spires). After a quick sweep through G.U.M. (which is much closer to an American shopping mall than to the department store I had envisioned), we walked’to visit The Research Institute for the Family, part of The Ministry for Social Protection of the Russian Federation (very roughly equivalent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Many surprises awaited me. I first met with Dr. Sergey V. Darmodekhin, Director of the Institute. After somewhat ritualized descriptions of each other's Institutes, he produced the first two issues of a new publication, THE FAMILY IN RUSSIA. The name, he said, was consciously adapted from Rockford's THE FAMILY IN AMERICA, and for the same reason: the family pre-exists state and nation.5 Issue #3, he said, would feature a translation of my "Family and Constitution" essay. He then showed me a copy, in Russian translation, of my 1989 article, "A Pro-Family Income Tax," which had appeared two-years ago in a social science journal. This article, he said, is having "great influence" among Russian Federation officials, as they labor to restructure the nations income tax. Following further conversation, Darmodekhim produced a draft "protocol" regarding cooperation between The Rockford Institute, his Research Institute for the Family, and The Chair of Family Sociology at Moscow University. It aimed at: 1) pfeparation of a joint issue or issues of "The Family in Russia" and "The Family in America"; 2) the publication of A. Carlson's work in Russia; 3) development of a joint research project concerning common family problems in the U.S. and Russia; 4) an exchange of publications between the three institutions; 5) an exchange of advertising information; 6) naming of A. Carlson as a member of the Academic Board of the Research Institute for the Family, as a public consultant. ° Following discussion of the draft, it was clear that this protocol would involve our Family Center only to the degree that we chose to be involved. We then adjourned to another room. There, I was greeted by about twenty-five researchers/scholars at the Institute. I gave a thirty minute talk on the nature of the family debate in the U.S. Many questions followed. One of the researchers--Vladimir Borisov, Chief of Family Demographic Problems--had a much circulated, privately bound, xerox copy of FAMILY QUESTIONS, which he asked me to sign. Following brandy and toasts, the three of us signed a protocol in another room. Antonov, Tania, and I then took the Metro to the House of the Sciences, operated by the Russian Academy of Science. This building had’been an aristocrat's home, prior to the revolution, and sat across the street from the Tolstoy house. It was full of beautiful French-style* furniture. Following drinks, we attended a special "Demography" lecture by one of the Academy members (half a dozen public lectures, on other subjects, went on elsewhere in the building, apparently an average schedule for a week-day night). Following a long-winded introduction by a Senior Demographer, and a "Memoriam" to a recently deceased member, the presentation began. .It offered new data on birth and death rates in the Russian Federation: the numbers had worsened since the last report. Average male life expectency had now fallen to 57 years. if current figures held for another 256 years, the population of the Russian Federation would fall_in half! Following the lecture, we were met outside by Eugeny, antonov's brother-in-law. (A very friendly fellow, he worked in construction. We went to his home, where a "party" was held in my honor. ‘The food came in three courses and was excellent. This was the best meal I had while in Russia. Among the guests was a former diplomat, who now made his living doing translation. His English was very good. The party ended at 11 p.m., and I was back to my room by 11:30 p.m., quite tired. jeans 8 Januar in the morning, T. Seleznova brought a small breakfast to my room. At 9:30 a.m., we joined Tania, and were picked up by a driver and van. First, they took me shopping, at a somewhat obscure department store, where the standard Russian souvenirs were of high quality and very cheap. We then made quick trips to an Art Gallery featuring a display of icons and also a display on Russian art from the 1930's (when "Soviet Realism" was the order of the day). Then we travelled, by van, to the Pushkin Museum, which has a fascinating, if very eclectic collection of art from ancient Greek vases and Egyptian artifacts to Picasso. Two fine paintings by L. Cranach the Elder were of particular interest. on our way to the next appointment, we became ensnarled in a huge traffic jam, and arrived 45 minutes late. Antonov was waiting with a former student of his, Elena Feokistova, First Deputy Director, Department of Family, Women, and Childrens Affairs, Ministry of Social Protection. I enjoyed the conversation very much, as we debated the need to meet current emergencies versus a strategy that would strengthen families, as well as the problems of reconciling family autonomy with the reality of "inadequate" parents. She asked me to share information with her regarding American welfare reforn. We then dashed, via van and on foot, over to an office pbuilding for members of the Dumas. This vast place had previously been the center for Gosplan, the Soviet Central Economic Planning Agency. Together with the Bolshoi (see below), this was the only truly clean place that I encountered on the trip. After going through security, we were met by an aide, and wisked upstairs into the office of Ekaterina Lakhova, member of ‘the Dumas, leader of The Women's Faction in the Dumas, and head of The Social Movement of the Women of Russia. She combined the qualities and posts of Gloria Steinem, Pat Schroeder, and Bella fbzug. I think Antonov took me to-meet her so I would understand What he was up against (he kept calling her "feminiska"). Her office was enormous and lavishly appointed (the Russians fear that they have traded in their Communists in exchange for7 Bureaucrats and self-serving politicians). We talked for forty- five minutes, she doing most of the talking. She was one of the few Russians I met who felt comfortable discussing the messy war down in Chehtnya (characteristically, she blamed it on a "male way of thinking"; "if there had been more women in the Dumas, this never would have happened"). Following the visit with Lakhova, the van and driver (who resembled the Swedish film star Max Von Sydow, but with Cossack hat and bad teeth) took me back to my room at the University, where I just had time to change for attendance at the Bolshoi Ballet. Antonov had arranged for his 16-year old neice, Helena (daughter of Eugeny), to accompany me. She is studying English and loves the ballet (she once danced, she said, but her mother “fed me too many dumplings"). Like the majority of Moscow children, she is an only child. Eugeny and Helena picked me up at 6 p.m. She was dressed in a very fancy gown, and had a feathery white coat. She was very sweet, but nervous and shy. We arrived at the Bolshoi Theatre at 6:30 p.m. It was smaller than I had anticipated, and must seat well under 1000. We sat in the third row--excellent seats. The orchestra pit was quite large, as was the stage. The odd combination of old and new was again jarring. The beautiful, golden tapestry curtain featured the letters "Cccp" and the Hammer and Sickle design, while the Ballet Program bore the logo, "Samsung Electronics." This was a special night: it marked the 1,500 performance of "Swan Lake" by the Bolshoi, since the ballet's debut in 1877. My words cannot do justice to the beauty of the performance. It was better in kind, not just in degree, than any ballet I have ever seen. The prima ballerina, Nina Ananiashilly, did spins that seemed humanly impossible, with grace and precision. The male dancers were superb, "flyin rather than merely jumping on their leaps. The closing scene was so wonderfully done, that tears rose in my eyes. I left wondering how a nation that seems to have trouble producing a usable sheet of paper can also produce something of unworldly beauty such as this. Eugeny picked us up after the ballet, and I was back to my room by 10:30 p.m. Thursday, 19 January This day, T. Seleznova took me on a tour of the rest of the central building of Moscow University, a weird combination of skyscraper, Masonic architecture, and Stalin's own personal taste. The structure has a Pentagon-like bulk, and it is easy to imagine becoming lost in the place. The rooms of the school administration were nicely finished in wood and wall hangings. Here, we ran into difficulty getting my visa registered with the school registrar. I never understood the whole problem (I believe my Russian hosts were embarrassed by some bureacrat8 throwing around his/her weight), but Antonov had to intervene again to encourage the central office to sign and release my passport and visa. Meanwhile, I had a fairly bad bowl of soup, bread, and two soda bottles for my breakfast (my own water bottles, brought over from Rockford, ran out the night before, and I was very thirsty; the tap water is unfit to drink). We then journeyed over to the University's Sociology Department, where old friend Larry Uzzell, now resident in Moscow as a representative of The Jamestown Foundation, joined us. Larry's Russian is fairly good, and he appreciated the introduction to Antonov. His opinions will be of help, as will his future guidance in broadening contacts. We closed the meeting with the exchange of books, signatures, and small gifts. A group of six saw me back to my room, where I retrieved my luggage, and said goodbye. Eugeny drove me to the airport, with Antonov along. He had a number of questions to ask (e.g., what is the story behind Lyndon LaRouche, whose organization is very active in Russia; could I introduce him to David Popence). He also told me that, before seeking his doctorate in sociology, he had been a poet, publishing several collections of verse before the authorities prevented it. His work was "too pessimistic" in its portrayal of Soviet life. (Note: Be sure to send to Antonov a copy of P.D. James' novel, THE CHILDREN OF MEN). Departure from the Moscow airport was uneventful. Munich airport, my transfer point, is much nicer than Frankfurt. Arrival at Prague Airport (a relatively small place) was the same, where Michaela Freiova of the Civic Institute met me. A driver took us to the Zlata Praha, or "Golden Prague" Hotel, a small place, in an old residential neighborhood, on a hill. I slept eagerly and well, disturbed only by the barking of a kennelled German Shephard, two doors down, about every two hours (this annoyance, in an otherwise fine hotel, would be repeated every night). day, 20 Januas I woke about 8 a.m., took a breakfast of cold meats and cheeses, and left for a walk. About four inches of snow lay on the ground, as I trundled down the hill, unsure of quite where I was going. A hour later, I reached "Prague Castle," site of st. vitus' Cathedral, the National Art Gallery, historical museums, the '0ld Palace,’ Burial Site of the Bohemian Kings (and Holy Roman Emporer Charles IV), Presidential Palace for the Czech Republic, The Lobkowicz palace, and a variety of other buildings. I had time only to tour the Cathedral and the Monestary Chapel that day; the Cathedral was wonderfully Gothic, with fascinating side Chapels. Emporer Ferdinand I is buried right in the middle.