SUDDENLY!

“Suddenly” is a word used often by the Russians.  I remember being told once in a writing workshop never to use the word “suddenly.” Only Dostoevsky can use that word, the teacher said.

Writing instructors often say that nothing in fiction happens without a stated or hinted reason. Dostoyevsky uses the word “suddenly” seven times in the first five pages of his short story the “White Nights.” In Russian history it is often the foreign ray, or light, or idea, or perspective that drives Russia, sometimes driving it crazy.

But, we generally know that human events do not usually happen suddenly. Like earthquakes, we feel them in a moment, but underneath the causal elements were long before inexorably moving toward the explosion. We, on the surface of things, measuring only what our senses tell us or what we want to believe, feel only the culminating shock. Read more »

Coco Chanel and WHO? Rasputin??

 Things “happen.” As an “unintended consequence” of the murder of Gregori Rasputin by Prince Felix Yusupov in December 1916 in St. Petersburg, Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich, first cousin of Czar Nicolas II, one of the handful of conspirators, was sent far out of town and Dimitri ended up in Paris. And who do you think took notice of the aristocrat’s arrival? Coco Chanel! She was eleven years his senior but that didn’t stop either one.

The French perfume business was booming because the scents didn’t last past eleven at night—so they bathed in the stuff.  As I heard the story, Dimitri advised Coco that she should not sell big bottles of perfume for cheap prices, but small bottles for high prices.  Dimitri introduced Coco to Ernest Beaux, a successful Russian-born perfumier from St. Petersburg who had learned his craft from his grandfather who entered Russia in 1812 with Napoleon and stayed there, learning the secrets of Russian perfume. From his grandfather, Beaux insisted that the addition of deer musk would make the perfume last the night. Coco hired Beaux, added deer musk to the eighty-some other ingredients and voila: we have Chanel No. 5. That was 1920. As an unintended consequence of the murder of Rasputin, our lovely ladies today have Chanel No. 5. Ce qui arrive, arrive.

As an intended consequence read “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman is Russia.”

Writing for the Russian Media

For almost a year now I have been writing for the respected Russian news media RIA Novosti.  I and about six others write weekly columns on various subjects. My column is called “Musings of a Russophile” and comes out each Friday. The subject may be a nostalgic epic, usually humorous, like how to take a hot wash down (I can’t call it a bath) when the city turns off the hot water for several weeks in the summer. Or they may be about thoughts on the poet and writer Boris Pasternak  (“Dr. Zhivago”) and my visit to his suburban home and what is story means today. There is even a report from the banya, the hot steam and massage experience. Whew!

 The columns of other writers are about a variety of things, all having to do with Russia, often critical and often cynically funny. Russians are good at laughing at themselves and particularly at their leaders.  I get good comments on my columns, particularly Russians who say I tell it like it is, but with respect and humor. Two of the favorites are “Moscow , a City of Dogs” and “St. Petersburg, a City of Cats.” Both Muscovites and Petersburgers love these, laugh, and say I got it right.

 You can find me at www.en.rian.ru.  Go to “Features and Opinions” then “Columnists.” Read the others, too.  All are good. My latest is http://www.en.rian.ru/columnists/20110812/165710036.html .

 And don’t forget “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman is Russia.”

Now it’s Russian art at the auctions!

One of my favorite Russian artists is Ilya Repin. The painting above is called “They did not expect him.” It is in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery. I always enjoy seeing it. Repin was one of the “Peredvizhniki” or “The Wanderers.” These famous artists in the late 19^th century rebelled against the academic formalism of the Imperial Academy and portrayed the hard lot of the poor folk, the common men and women. Today much of Repin’s art can be seen in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg as well as the Tretyakov.

Now Russian art is getting the big money. I was amazed to see where a Repin recently was sold at Christie’s auction for over $7.3 million. It was one he did in Paris, called “Parisian Café.”

There is a very interesting story behind Repin’s “They did not expect him,” but that is for another time. Contact me if you want to discuss this or any of the “Peredvizhniki,” as it is all a favorite art subject of mine. Repin, clearly, is one of the best.

Learn more about Russian Art, Buy here “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”. Your comments are welcome.

Artist’s across the Water~ LA and St. Petersburg

It’s a wonderful start in understanding the world, when children can paint for friends across the sea, and learn about the world and its different people.  One thing learned is that we are not so different. For the second year the Los Angeles-St. Petersburg Sister City Committee is sponsoring a student art exchange between student’s of the Los Angeles and St. Petersburg, Russia.

The LA display of several hundred paintings, including 82 from St. Petersburg has just closed and will be on its way to St. Petersburg in late June. It will be displayed in this famous Russian city as part of the renowned Master Class International Art Festival during the fabulous “White Nights”   this summer.

The painting shown above is the work of the 9-year old Maxim Domochevsky.

Learn more about St. Petersburg, Buy here “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”. Your comments are welcome.

Art Across the Ocean

The Los Angeles-St. Petersburg Sister City Committee again in 2011 has sponsored a Children’s Art Exchange Exhibition between the students of our sister cities.  The LA exhibit opened May 12 and will close June 4. About 200 paintings from LA Unified School District and 82 paintings from St. Petersburg are on display. It looks really beautiful. It can be seen at the Charles White Gallery: 2401 Wilshire blvd., LA , 90057. All are invited.

 Children and families attended the opening and many will go to the closing reception as well. The exhibit will then go to St. Petersburg, Russia  as last year for a special exhibit during the famous “Master Class International Art Festival,” in June. Our great thanks to Masha and Muriel and the officials of the LA Unified School District here in LA, and to the wonderful people in St. Petersburg for what they are doing there.

It is great to be sponsoring an event like this. There is so much good to be done with the children expressing their knowledge of and respect for their brothers and sisters across the sea. There is a growing respect and interaction between the US and Russia and we are proud to be part of it.

See last year’s exhibit on www.laspscc.org. 

Learn more. Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

St. Petersburg~A Favorite City of Mine

As usual in Russia, it is a place of mixed meaning and effect. Founded by Peter the Great in 1703 as his “Window on the West” it is still that and for that reason a place at arm’s length from the rest of Russia. And for that reason, one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

 St. Petersburg is a feminine city. She is an elegant and noble woman sitting draped with the jewels of her youth waiting for her prince to return. It is the most beautiful Italianate city in Europe. This “Venice of the North” with its symmetry, canals, architecture, statuary, museums, performing arts, palaces, gardens and languid summers with endless days make it a city never to be forgotten. The palaces are more flamboyant than Versailles and more numerous than anywhere in the world. I used to call it “Paris without paint,” but for the 300^th anniversary in 2003, the lady polished her nails, groomed her hair and donned a clean and colorful dress.  From my book, “Walking on Ice, an American Businessman in Russia.”

 St. Petersburg is not Russia; it is the historical myth of Imperial Russia. St. Petersburg is charming, gentle, romantic. It goes to bed at ten. But during the glorious summer White Nights it doesn’t sleep at all.

 As President of the Los Angeles/St.Petersburg Sister City Committee, I keep reasonably in touch.

 What do you think? Have you been there?

Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

What is it about Russian Women?~ Part 4, the “Barbies” and the “beaten.”

 This is the Part 4 of my weekly series about Russian women.  It’s about those I call the “Barbies” and the “beaten.”

 There is another kind of woman in Russia today, which, unfortunately, is nothing to brag about–the Barbies. Out of the same age group of the young Russians who are so promising, there are the Lady Gaga wannabes with more on their face than in their head. The Barbies sit dumbly in the street kiosks, bored, chewing gum, reluctantly responding to questions about the pirated DVDs on display. With a cigarette hanging from over-painted lips, they are lost in a cheap world of making money, conspicuous consumption, and Hollywood B flicks. Down Nevsky Prospect, they walk as onto a couture stage, the teen-aged bare-bellied Barbies, arm and arm, lost in their cheap fantasy of who they want to be. We have them, too. They are not the hope of the new Russia–but maybe will get in line with the winners.

One kind of woman in Russia, one too often obscured, is the tragic–the beaten. She is the victim of the violent side of Russian culture, the deep-seated crudeness and cruelty present in many Russian men. The Moscow Times reported once that fifty percent of all murders are committed by husbands killing wives. Rapes, not as prevalent as in America, nevertheless go unreported because the police and courts are unsympathetic to the rape victim who is chided for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I’ve seen the faces of women on the street, going about their chores with a battered face¾as if the system itself was not brutal enough. Alcohol is often to blame. In a country where drunkenness is a cultural right and vodka subsidized by the state, what can you expect? The women are tough survivors. They have to be tough to survive the infamous birthing clinics that treat women like accomplices to a crime. Until recently, there were thirteen abortions for every ten births. Only those with money and contacts can use the modern maternity facilities.

Check here next week for the “winners.”

Comments are welcome.

Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

St. Petersburg~A City of Cats.

St. Petersburg, Russia is one of my favorite cities. Its history is glorious, colorful, and tragic. I just wrote a column on it–see http://www.en.rian.ru/columnists/20110128/162353893.html following are some excerpts:

St. Petersburg is a feminine city. She is an elegant and noble woman sitting draped with the jewels of her youth waiting for her prince to return. It is the most beautiful Italianate city in Europe. This “Venice of the North” with its symmetry, canals, architecture, statuary, museums, performing arts, palaces, gardens and languid summers with endless days make it a city never to be forgotten. The palaces are more flamboyant than Versailles and more numerous than anywhere in the world. For the 300^th anniversary in 2003, the lady polished her nails, groomed her hair and donned a clean and colorful dress. St. Petersburg is not Russia; it is the historical myth of Imperial Russia. St. Petersburg is charming, gentle, romantic.  

St. Petersburg is a city of cats. From the streets at night, you can see their shining eyes, peering through the arches from the inner decay of “Dostoevsky’s St. Petersburg,” the faceless blocks of communal flats behind the Italianate buildings on the main streets. The cats hang comfortably in the dead trees, dine elegantly in the overflowing garbage, sit regally on the broken steps. In front of our office, in the winter, the last car to park was identified by the presence of the cats curled up on the warm hood.

There are changes, some not so pleasant. Still, the magic is here. The tangerine summer sunsets behind The Peter and Paul Fortress reflecting in the Neva; the great museums, The Hermitage and The State Russian Museum and others are unmatched. The majesty of Palace Square, the Summer Gardens; the Mariinsky where once I sat in the Czar’s box to watch the ballet. It’s the past that is so glorious. The future, as always in Russia, is hopeful, but unpredictable.

St. Petersburg is all things, but one wonders at times if it really exists. To me, it is the most thrilling city in Europe.

Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”

Good Sisters Make a Good Family

It is such a pleasure to see the good that is done when people of different cultures respectfully get together. The result is a realization of how much we have in common, not in difference. Harmony and mutual appreciation happen—and we learn so much.

I have the pleasure of being a member of the Los Angeles/St Petersburg Sister City Committee (LASPSCC) and presently its president. I love St. Petersburg, its history, its architecture, its art and culture, its people, and its role in today’s Russia. My favorite involvement is with the “babushkas” in St. Petersburg.  A nonprofit group directly helps these deserving old ladies unable to get out and care for themselves. I have loved meeting some of these delightful women, heros all. One I met, at age 95 then, commanded artillery firing at the Nazi’s infamous 900 day bombardment of their city in 1941-43. Each week a helper shops for them, fixes meals that last for a few days, and tends to other needs.

Our committee was founded in 1989 and has raised money and helped orphanages, medical programs, and a home for veterans of the stage. We have brought over to L.A. teachers, lawyers, city officials, and others to learn more about how a city like Los Angeles works and governs an active democratic citizenship. We are helping a dedicated scholar to collect, preserve, and digitize the works of the great poet Anna Akhmatova. Now we are supporting a children’s art exchange.

The U.S. sister city program originated in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people, citizen diplomacy initiative. Thanks, Ike. The Sister Cities is a wonderful and fun way to get together, gain knowledge and respect for each other. It is up to the individuals in the local communities. No government supervision is involved—it’s all about individual initiative and mutual care.

Buy here  “Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia”