“From Russia with Love…” was the title I wanted for this article but in reality I think a better title is to be found in that famous song by Boney M, Rasputin: “Oh those Russians!”
The security in Russia is incredible. Today we had a couple of meetings which I’ll talk about later but afterwards we decided to go to Red Square and see the Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral. So 20 of us walked towards Red Square. As usual, Renata had her rainbow peace flag and was walking proudly with it as always. Then suddenly Horacio realised that we were being followed by 2 security men in furry hats. They caught up to where we were and started talking to Evgeny, our Russian guide and friend from St Petersburg and it became clear that they had a problem with the flag. More than that they had a problem with the World March logo and before we knew it there were 5 secret policemen with us and 3 undercover agents. They spoke with Evgeny and then Juan Carlos (our coordinator in Russia) arrived and the message was clear that logos were not allowed. We had to hide all our logos, take off the badges, turn the jackets inside out, etc. Only then could we proceed to Red Square… This is how I imagine life was in Soviet times. It’s really unthinkable that the Russian system is like this still. Glasnost means openness. What happened to that?
Anyway, after that we made a plot with Montse, 72 and mother of 9. She knows people who know people who know the Mayor of Moscow, so she thought that if she gets arrested with a banner, she can easily get out of it with a few phone calls. So I didn’t want her to go to prison alone so I volunteered to open the banner with her in Red Square. But then we got to Red Square and it was closed. They wouldn’t let us in!! So we couldn’t do our act of civil disobedience in the style of Martin Luther King. Nevertheless we gathered the base team outside St Basil’s and after a few moments of hesitation we took out the big World March banner and took photos, put it away again quickly and no-one did anything! There were no police cars screeching around the corner full of security agents to arrest us and make us martyrs or anything which would have ensured our presence in the world’s media tomorrow… How disappointing!
So, back to what we did earlier. We went to the Gorbachev Foundation, met the Executive Director Olga Mikhailovna Zdravomislova, who gave us a tour of the exhibition and then Rafa handed her the World March documents and we agreed that we’d meet with Gorbachev in Berlin during the Nobel Laureates Summit. If that happens it will be fantastic. :-) This meeting was made possible due to the efforts of Ekatarina Zagladina who is our contact with the Nobel Peace Laureates and their Berlin Summit. Also she is the daughter of the late Vadim Zagladin, former politican and advisor to Gorbachev during the time of Perestroika and Glasnost. Many thanks must go to her for all her efforts in making this possible.
Then we went over to the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Latin America and met an old humanist friend, Boris Koval, who was Vice-President of the Humanist International for many years (actually maybe he still is). We met others interested in the theme of humanism and they wanted to know about the development of humanism around the world, and then the motivations of all the base team. We were recorded by a Russian journalist who makes programmes in Spanish language. Then Boris bought us all lunch! Brilliant…
After this we had our brush with the Russian Secret Services and came back to the hotel, cold and tired. But at least I had something unusual for my blog.
So now, I have some bad news for those who read my blog everyday and send me lovely messages. Today was my last day with the Base Team for a while. I promised friends in Pressenza that I’d go to Turkey and cover the passage of the Balkan team to Switzerland, so in 2 hours time I go to the airport and take a flight to Poland. I get to sleep in my own bed for 2 nights, wash my clothes and then fly to Istanbul on Monday. Then I have something like 12 days on a bus… What was I thinking when I agreed to that??
I’ll continue to update the blog, but with a different set of protagonists. They’ll be new anecdotes, new friendships, new experiences and new difficulties to resolve. It’s going to be fantastic…
With a very big hug to all and, in fact, sent from Russia with much love…
Tony
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- Luis Garcia, one of our resident Doctors on the Base Team
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- Outside the Gorbachev Foundation
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- The incredibly ornate Moscow Metro system
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- Pierre explaining why Russia should adopt an article to renounce war in her constitution…
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- Tony with new Base Team member, Lucy, from Prague.
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- Rafa giving the WM documents to the Gorbachev Foundation Director
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- and in front of Gorby’s portrait with Ekaterina Zagladina and Olga Mikhailovna Zdravomislova
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- Inside the Latin America Institute with Boris
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- Marco in front of a tree of padlocks. It’s something to do with chained love… Couples go there, put a padlock and throw the key in the river!
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- Our brush with the secret service
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- Surrounded by Secret Police and undercover agents.
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- Isabelle with her World March jacket inside out.
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- With the banner outside St Basil’s
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- And the obligatory photo of the wonderful St Basil’s just to prove we were in Moscow!
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Qué bien Tony, es estupendo poder vivir estas dos experiencias. Que todo vaya muy bien por Turkia, la gente que está allí también es fantástica!
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Tony, DO you sleep ever? :) Good luck with the longest bus trip I ever heard of!
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Super stuff Tony et al – memories of meeting Boris in Santiago ages ago – truly tho, it’s From Russia with Love
t’other tony
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Tony just to thank you for so fantastic writing, it makes us feel that we are there also!!!
Good luck in your long bus trip, hope you are feeling aur closeness and aour good wishes.
Big hug from Argentina (on the other side of the world)
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“So now, I have some bad news for those who read my blog everyday and send me lovely messages. Today was my last day with the Base Team for a while.”
What a pitty!! We´ll miss your exciting reports!
Can you may be handpick a correspondent???
Big hug
Gustavo
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Enjoy reading your account of the March. Will miss it for few days but will eagerly wait for its resumtion. Rest well and come well prepared for a more rougher weather! regards and best wishes, a big hug -aiyyappa
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Wonderful story Tony – reminds me of 1993 at the Humanist Forum there… we’ll certainly miss your stories, hope someone else will continue in some way – but will look forward to hearing about your coming adventures in Turkey!
big hug
Trudi
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Me encanto esto de Rusia con Amor¡¡ Tus reseñas de esta odisea no-violenta son una fuerza que nos bebemos con mucho interes¡
mucha paz fuerzaaaaaa y alegriaaaa
para ti Tony y todos los valientes amigos ¡
silvia reyes
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Hi Tony
It is be wonderful were missing from HONG KONG.
Big hug to…
DIDAR….
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Hi, Tony! My name is Alexey and I’m a Muscovite.
As a member of the russian civil society I want to apologize to you and your Team for the problems that spoiled your stay in our capital city.
People in furry hats who asked you to hide the flags and logos are not Secret Service. It is our police. The most interesting thing is that they were acting in compliance with our law. According to our law every mass action or demonstration must be coordinated with our city government. The law also says that the simple walk with flags and logos can be considered as a demonstration. Without our city government permission every mass action is outside the law and must be stopped by police forces. I know that this order is absurd, but we can’t change it because our authoritarian goverment don’t want any democratic changes. There is no freedom of assembly in Russia.
Also our goverment don’t want to cancel the universal conscription which we were inherited from the Soviet Union. The other problem is that our anti-conscription pickets are not populary among our fellow citizens. Today we got only three hundred people (in ten million Moscow!) who protests on the street against making soldiers from our young men. But we keep on trying and I hope that we shall overcome some day.
You are doing a Good Work. Thank you and good luck.
Alexey. Student. Moscow.
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Hi Alexey
The experience that Tony has explained and your comments confirm the worst opinion that many people have here about the system in Russia. Some time ago I watched on Aljazeera TV an interesting documentary about Gari kasparov, who wanted to present the Democratic Party of Russia for the elections. The system didn’t let him and finally he went to prison for few days.
Since then I feel worried but also proud of people who fight to change the system in Russia.
Nice to meet you in the WM
Xavi Belda, from Spain.
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Translation of Alexey’s comment to Spanish.
Hola Tony! Mi nombre es Alexey y soy moscovita.
Como miembro de la sociedad civil rusa, quiero disculparme contigo y con el Equipo por los problemas que empañaron vuestra estadía en nuestra capital.
Los hombres con sombrero de piel que les pidieron que ocultaran las banderas y logos no son del Servicio Secreto. Son nuestra policía. Lo más interesante es que actuaban cumpliendo con nuestra ley. Según nuestras leyes, toda acción masivo o demostración debe coordinarse con el gobierno de la ciudad. La ley también dice que una simple caminata con banderas y logos se puede considerar una demostración. Sin el permiso del gobierno municipal, toda acción masiva está fuera de la ley y debe ser suspendida por la fuerza policial. Sé que esta orden es absurda, pero no la podemos cambiar porque nuestro gobierno autoritario no quiere cambios democráticos. No hay libertad de reunión en Rusia.
Además, nuestro gobierno no quiere eliminar la conscripción universal que heredamos de la Unión Soviética. El otro problema es que nuestros piquetes anti-conscripción no son populares entre nuestros conciudadanos. Hoy fuimos solamente trescientos (de los diez millones de personas que hay en Moscú) los que protestamos en la calle para que no se convierta a nuestros jóvenes en soldados. Pero lo seguimos intentando y espero que algún día triunfaremos.
Ustedes están haciendo una Buena Obra. Gracias y buena suerte.
Alexey. Estudiante. Moscú
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Tony !
Have a rest !!! And we will go on reading you when you’ll be in turkey… it will be great to have dayly news from there ! Hope somebody could write like you, with sincerity, humor, and share this dayly March.
Thanks a lot
claudie
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jajajajaj. no todas son rosas en el camino. tus relatos son brillantes! ajajajajaj. un cálido y gran abrazo! Alba
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Toni, interesante tu descripción de nuestro paseo por el centro de Moscú. Solo decir que no pensaba en que ningún amigo iba a sacarme de prisión caso de ser detenida. Siempre sigo el impulso que me dicta el corazón y, en Moscú, mi corazón no aceptaba que nos impidieran ondear nuestra bandera por la Paz. Besos, buen trabajo.
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Claro Montse! Tienes razon, esto fue una proyeccion mia; que tus amigos me sacaria a mi de prision! Hasta Ginebra, Tony
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