Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Putin is not someone I'm eager to take lectures from. But that exchange raised the very
questions I was asking myself on the ride back from Sagra. Notably Putin suggested that
Russia is finding its way to democracy. And no doubt he has benefited from using a “we're
not ready for democracy” argument to justify some harsh policies that threaten human
rights. Throwing people in prison for being gay is despicable and immoral. I'm all for lec-
turing—and shaming—Russia when it comes to an issue like that. But I realize I had gone
into that house in Sagra thinking that I knew the best model for Russia, falling into the trap
many of us fell into twenty years ago.
“Do you guys have time to stop at my house and meet my wife?” Andrei asks from the
driver's seat.
“Of course,” I say.
We drive into what appears, on its face, to be a ramshackle neighborhood behind a shop-
ping center. But then we pull into one house that stands apart from the rest—far more mod-
ern looking. Andrei walks us into his home, and here is everything that was lacking in
Sagra—a sparkling kitchen with marble countertops, polished wooden floors, a bathroom
not just with city water service but a state-of-the-art shower with a computerized display.
For Andrei business has clearly been good. His wife and young son come in from the
snow, bundled up in winter coats. Andrei starts speaking about Sagra, and I can see in his
wife's eyes a look of, Are we still talking about
that
?
“You know, the people who suffered the most were my wife and kids,” he says, boiling
water for tea and unwrapping a cake to go with it.
“It really was outrageous,” his wife says. “We were trying to lead a quiet life.”
Andrei and his wife were apart for the larger part of a year, as Andrei stayed with his
father in Sagra for weeks at a time, working on the case. And their older son was expelled
from the local police academy—which Andrei is certain was punishment for his confront-
ing local officials.
It is striking how Andrei was pulled into this other world for a year. Here he was, with a
gorgeous house, stable work, and a wife fulfilling her dream to open a business. Then, all
of a sudden, he is yanked into the darker, more vigilante side of Russia, having to defend
his father in Russia's joke of a justice system. It's all a reminder of how precarious life is
for everyone in this country.
Andrei got a taste of democracy at work.
Publicity was our protection.
But he didn't feel
much incentive to do more with this case. He and his wife are just eager to get back to their
routine, and not make more waves.
It's not just that Russians are built to endure. They are also wise. Many see their odd
version of democracy today as flawed and dangerous. But this purgatory is perhaps as safe
as they can hope for.
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