Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I
T WAS MEANINGFUL
for me to spend time with Dmitry and Olga again. They remind me of
the assumptions I made about Russia. I assumed, as a young American watching the fall of
the Soviet Union from afar, that Russians would immediately feel liberated and determined
to grab onto my country's system as fast as they could.
The story is so different, and far more complicated. In an unfamiliar country, it can
be easy to say, okay, that's a point of view that seems foreign to me, but the person I'm
listening to is so entirely different from me, I can't empathize. But then there're Olga and
Dmitry—people I connect to, and empathize with, in so many ways. That makes their out-
look more powerful to me personally. Olga and Dmitry appreciate Western countries like
the United States. But they don't long to live there. They don't see some superior form of
politics they wish Russia had. They have some nostalgia for Soviet times, seeing it as an era
when the government provided some bedrock services and guarantees for its citizens. As for
the future, they can't see it clearly yet. Not a single person we met on this trip could. But no
one said, I'm satisfied with the system in Russia—let's leave it as is. As an American, sure,
I'd love to make some tweaks. But all in all, if a Russian writer came and asked me, I would
say I'm pretty proud of what I have. No one in Russia said that. Still, so many people want
and expect change.
But when? And what will it look like? Olga and Dmitry and so many other people showed
an unimaginable willingness to wait—patience as long and hard as a crazy five-week train
journey across all of Russia. Maybe that patience comes from learned endurance, a fatalism
that anticipates difficult times, and a tendency to grab onto whatever feels safe, not wanting
to shake things up and induce chaos too quickly. And so perhaps this will be a long but fruit-
ful process. Perhaps the small battles we saw will go on. The young generation of Russians
will learn about individual rights and freedoms, and ultimately that will lead them to decid-
ing on a system that will make them proud.
T
HE TROUBLING REALITY
about Russia is that for any sense of optimism to arrive, for
people to feel hope, inspiration and a drive to bring positive change would mean escaping
years—generations—of history. History and culture matter. Everything I heard on this
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