Moscow Orientation – Day 18 – Culture and Politics

Our first meeting today was at the Bolshoi Theater, Russia’s premier performing arts space. It’s hard to translate the importance of the Boshoi into American terms – think of it as the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center combined, with all the best musicians and singers/dancers under contract in one place.

We got a tour of the New Stage across from the 150yr old main theater that is undergoing extensive renovation. We had attended a ballet here a few weeks ago, so the hall itself was nothing new – still beautiful. The backstage scene was really interesting, though. We talked about the pitch of the stage and seats, and the challenge of using much bigger sets from the much bigger theater across the street.

Then we met with Gennady Iskanov, the executive director of the Bolshoi, a short sort of roundish man with a wonderfully friendly personality. He took our questions and answered very honestly and directly in his slightly raspy, wheezy voice. He came across as a very professional and able administrator. I asked how much the reconstruction project would cost, and how that tally compares to similar projects around the world. He gave me 4 solid, detailed reasons why it was going to be more, and attached a percentage of total cost to each. I have a feeling he’d been asked the question before. Anyway, I was satisfied with the answer.

I also asked what would be the biggest change visible to theatergoers. He identified comfort as the #1 change. Fewer and better seats; now that’s my kind of executive director of a theater!

Next, we walked to the executive office building of the Russian parliament. We went through extensive security before meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, a senior member of the committee on foreign relations. He has degrees in international relations and long experience in both Soviet and Russian diplomatic posts.

This guy is a real professional. He answered our questions very diplomatically and still gave the impression of being very honest and open. It was the first political conversation I’ve had in Russia that didn’t involve hysterical ranting. By some one other than me, that is. And I did my best to bait him, too. With recent events in Syria and Iran, I said, Americans are beginning to believe that Russia isn’t a good partner in the war on terror. Are Syria and Iran connected to this issue, and what role does Russia play in the Middle East? He got a little animated, but gave a studious answer on how the US’s selective enforcement of the non-proliferation treaty and creation of chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan actually makes the US an unreliable partner.

He told a funny story about US-Russia relations. One US senator came to Moscow and met with him. He said that he, as a good friend of Russia, was one of the people who could legitimately criticize out of respect. After all, he said, only a close friend can tell you that you’re getting fat. Ah, Kosachev agreed, but a close friend doesn’t point at you in public and scream out loud about how fat you are getting. That’s basically our relationship in a nutshell. The Russians are the first to admit that they have problems. They don’t mind you criticizing them, either. They’d just rather not have you do it front of everyone else.

He thanked us and promised us that Russia would become “a normal, democratic country". I hope it doesn’t become too normal, though; there wouldn’t be any fun in coming here in that case.