Orientation - Day 2

The meeting was held in the Westin Grand. Westin's shtick is the "heavenly bed", a phrase way too close to heavenly rest for my comfort when laying down to sleep. The room is covered in catalogs, and all the items have little tags that announce that they are for sale in the catalog or online. My turned down bed had a note on it last night. Not good night. Not pleasant dreams. Instead: you can buy these pillows. It was like waking up on the 5th floor of Macy's.

Meetings recommenced at 8:30. This was the nuts and bolts part of the orientation. Justin outlined health insurance, travel documents, etc. Then we talked about in-country life. Housing accommodations are provided - furnished studio - and are all located near Smolenskaya metro stop. That's basically shouting distance from the Kremlin. Amazing.
Sonya Chernogortseva - the program director in Moscow - talked about the logistics support her office will provide. Then Svetlana talked about the professional assignments and how to go about thinking about them.

So, the first day in Moscow. Picked up at the airport. Issued a cellphone with all other participants and administrators numbers pre-programmed. Dropped off at your apartment. Picked up the next day for a shopping trip - where to go, and what to get, and transportation. Very practical learning.

We broke for a very nice lunch and had a great time. The level of excitement and anticipation was palpably increasing in the group after each part of the program. I was wondering just how high a fever pitch it would reach when we returned for the afternoon presentations.
Well, if ever there was a verbal bucket of cold water it came from the next speaker, the head of the US-Russia cultural association. He read the history of Russia since 862 AD off a sheaf of papers. Mind you, practically everyone in the room has a masters in Russian Studies, if not an undergrad degree. His English was extremely broken and strange. He inexplicably referred to Russia as "the Russia". He took 4 tries at "emphasis" before it came out right. Then, we did the question and answer session in Russian - and he was nearly as unintelligible. He repeated the second half of every third sentence. Very peculiar. Then he made the critical mistake of saying there wasn't nationality- based discrimination in the Soviet Union. Our Russian instructor got her hackles up and asked exactly what the hell he was talking about. That prompted even more stumbling. It was the equivalent of me telling people that there wasn't any racism in the US based on my lack of racial discrimination. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Anyway, he was a disaster and Justin apologized when he was gone.

Next, we met with an intercultural training guy. He was too hammy by a factor of about 5. Cringe inducing melodrama. But he set up a decent framework for analyzing and addressing situations that seemed reasonable enough. I have to grudgingly admit that it was worthwhile.
So, a short break and then we reconvened for the Woodrow Wilson Institute dinner and Awards. The recognition of dignitaries was long, with ambassadors from all over the world. Then, they asked the ten Alfa Fellows to stand and be recognized for their devotion to intercultural exchange. Very nice. Except the congressman from Indiana who introduced us said "Alfa Fellers". Oh well. I guess my intercultural tolerance should extend to my own countrymen at times.

Dinner was speeches interspersed with brief videos. I'd have rather had more speeches. The videos were of the NBC Olympic moments sappiness. Very saccharine, tear-jerking sentimentality. Still, dinner was fun. One of the honorees was Vagit Alekperov, the head of LUKoil. Oddly enough, they sort of glossed over the part of how he created the company. Perhaps maybe because its not so flattering. Well, anyway, the point now is he has billions and is becoming a good corporate citizen in Russia. Ego te absolvo.

After dinner, the Russian ambassador's wife came and found us. Her husband had a prior commitment, but he told her to make a point of seeing us. She gushed about how impressed he was with us, and how wonderful it was that we were going to Russia, and that we'd love Moscow, and etc. That wasn't a run-on sentence - I'm trying to convey how rapid fire she was. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was the ambassador. Really impressive woman. She invited everyone to their residence, the former Pullman estate near the White House which she has renovated back to its Gilded Age opulence.

Not that night, of course. Instead, I went out for drinks with Justin, Rachel, Jim, Byron, and Hans. We found an Irish bar and put away a few pints. DC, unfortunately, has wide swathes of nighttime lameness. But that wasn't the real point of the evening. I really started getting to know my fellow Fellows, and I'm much happier for it.

Orientation - Day 1

Washington, DC - The program kicks off with a welcome from Justin Gibbons, CDS program officer for the Fellowship. Then the introductions.

Nathan - a very widely traveled journalist.

Hans - a Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgizia.

Josh - a journalist/editor who has lived in Central Asia for 7 years.

Jim - health issues specialist.

Rachel - historic and art preservation specialist.

Byron - an attorney interested in oil and gas.

Wylie - investment banker interested in gas and oil.

Jeff - an attorney interested in intellectual property issues.

Amanda - specialist in russia and far east, interested in corporate governance.

Me - shlub.

Another welcome from Svetlana Smirnova the Director of Corporate Communications with Alfa Bank. She details the banks vision, and how the Fellowship fits with that goal. Building institutions and frameworks for development and understanding. We talk a bit more about the program from the conceptual level - big picture thinking, not too much in the way of specifics at this point.

Our first speaker of the day is Marshall Goldman - the noted Russia specialist and author of numerous books. He laid out a bit of the political scenario in Russia today, his impressions of recent events, and his analysis of what it all means. He's a bit of a Russia cynic at this point - and is worried that things like the YUKOS scandal are simply the opening salvos of a massive power grab by Putin's unrestrained KGB henchmen. He posited that slowing oil output growth is a function of decelerating western investment in the Russian oil industry. I don't think its that clear. Global oil output is peaking, if it hasn't already. The simple fact is that the easy gains in boosting Russian output have been made. In wall street speak, we'd say that they already got all the low hanging fruit, and the first derivative is negative. I asked if Putin has any sort of vision of a "commanding heights" model of economy. Goldman thinks no - no pretensions to a European model. Just lusting after money.

A brief lunch, and then we headed off to Capitol Hill. (It's a shame what an armed camp Washington has become. ) Into the massive south office building, and walk for what seems like miles to Congressman Curt Weldon's office. He greeted us all in Russian, and ushered us into his office. Almost enough seats for all - but not quite. There would have been, but he's been in office for 20 years - the accumulated gifts and mementos from constituents covers every surface and cascades from bookshelves and cabinets. Rep. Weldon is the self-styled Russia expert in Congress, and was very interested to hear what our program was going to do. Then he launched into a history of US - Russian relations during which he became more and more animated. In his view, we've made critical mistakes and alienated people when we had a chance to bring them closely into our confidence and orbit. He backed it up with chapter and verse of mistakes over the past 12 years. Then he talked about his legislative agenda to help set things right. A lot of it makes sense, and isn't too controversial. It's brilliant - and he'll be the first to tell you.

After about an hour, we pack back up for the hotel. The afternoon session is with Keith Darden, professor of russian political economy at Yale. He detailed the interlocking nature of the informal and formal power structures in Russia with discussions about transparency and unwritten rules. Basically, his theory is that the country is held together by corruption and the threat of prosecution. The "contract" that the elites make is that you're free to get your piece of the action, kick a percentage upstairs, don't get greedy, and don't ever rock the boat. The administrative uses blackmail to coerce action - and to remove troublemakers in worst case scenarios. The result is that the best functioning beaurocracy is the security service.
During his talk, he mentioned how Russia's "transparency" score is on par with Zimbabwe. I asked how Direct Foreign Investment tracks with those ranks ex China. He remarked that he didn't think it did track and used Nigeria as support - low transparency, but high foreign investment. Ahh, I responded, Nigeria is all oil investment. Control for that, though, and I bet it does track closely. He didn't really agree.

Back on the road after that to the Russian Embassy. Its a huge complex of buildings, and really quite beautiful. The main reception building is absolutely oppulent. Marble, grand stair cases, and a ballroom that was positively cavernous. Enormous chandeliers, huge Tsereteli murals. Small halls off of that one were like european salons - silk covered walls and soaring ceilings, delicate sitting areas. Throughout, the building was populated with outstanding works of art. Sculptures, busts, and paintings. One whole room was Palekh panels. My favorite was a winter blizzard scene that only upon closer examination revealed a beautiful white cathedral. This being the Russian embassy, there were alot of winter scenes.

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We sat down to tea with the Ambassador at a table for about 20. He warmly welcomed us to Russia, and also into its heart and spirit. Then we each introduced ourselves to him, and asked him questions. Much of the discussion centered on Russia's image in the American press. He was quite irate about the Washington Post in particular, and didn't have kind words for their vision of world relations. Very warm conversation, then a group photo in the ballroom.

Back to the hotel. I split off for dinner with Josh, Byron, and Hans. We had Thai, and sat in the restaurant talking and getting to know each other for several hours. Really nice guys. Great experiences all over the world. I found the stories about central asian attitudes toward prostitution to be the most entertaining. But that's just me.