OLGA - Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia - page 164

“Do you wish you had gone for that green card in 1991?”
“I guess not. I know a few people from my age group who moved there as green card
holders, or got citizenship. Lived there five or ten years. And I don't hear a lot of cool stor-
ies. Often, they're not smart enough or wealthy enough to integrate into your society.”
It reminds me of one of the first conversations on this trip—with the passenger who had
just gotten back from Thailand. As a Russian he felt different, and out of place. And Dmitry
is painting such a sad picture. He's saying there are Russians who can't afford a comfort-
able lifestyle at home—but also don't feel like they have the money or smarts to adjust to
a Western society.
Dmitry, knowing English, having spent time in the United States, would have as good a
chance as any Russian fitting in and finding happiness in a country like the United States.
But even he doesn't have some strong pull to make such a move.
“We love Vladivostok,” Olga explains. And her life isn't easy. The shrinking population
in Russia has meant fewer students at universities. Her school has been desperately trying
to recruit foreign students, from China and elsewhere. But they've also had to squeeze
budgets. She gets paid 26,000 rubles ($880) a month in salary as an assistant professor.
She can get an additional 10,000 rubles ($330) for every thirty-two hours of special lec-
turing—but says she doesn't get that payment until the administration confirms that her
students have completed all required homework for the course—added bureaucracy, added
delays.
She spent a semester in 2012 teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, and
loved every minute of the experience.
“Were you feeling, I wish I could be a professor in the U.S.? Were you conflicted about
that at all?”
“I don't know. I know I want opportunities to go there whenever I want to. Really, I just
want to write my book and become a full professor and have enough salary to travel when
I wish. I'm not sure I want to be a professor at an American university. But it was an inter-
esting experience.”
Olga's book, and her research, focus on Western political philosophy.
“How do you explain the current Russian government in the context of political philo-
sophy? What is the political philosophy Russia has in place?”
Olga smiles, and gives this some thought.
“They are trying to separate people.”
“Why is that a good strategy for the government?
“Because when people are separated, they don't care deeply for anything—except for
themselves.”