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hts or feelings it became very difficult still we learned about our families she was divorced with a daughter who lived with her ex husband natasha saw her daughter often and she seemed to be a good terms with him to keep my foreign status less obvious we went to the beriozka where i bought a red fox hat that suited my fantasy and with the long winter coat i had purchased in austria i looked like a handsome russian man according to natasha we went to a variety of great restaurants she knew about and i learned how she cleverly bribed the doorman if we were denied entrance always with a smile as she looked straight at the person and shook hands as five rubles was passed in moscow things really were not expensive it was the lack of goods and services that made life difficult i learned that in russia it was necessary to have a network of friends who could get things for you hard currency could get you many things unavailable otherwise and within the black market one could get 3 or 4 rubles for a dollar which was much better than the official exchange rate of which took 1 40 to get one ruble this was one of the things natasha was able to do for me i would give her 1 00 and she would give me at least 300 rubles sometimes more suddenly i became a big spender when it came to dining out having champagne and caviar at dinner was routine i never asked her what happened to the dollars as i didn t want to know once when i returned to the states she asked me to buy her a boom box which i did and brought back to her she paid me for it and it disappeared during this time abba the swedish rockers were popular and they were heard often here and there but my favorite pink floyd was an entirely new sound and i gave her some of my tapes of them along with a few others once we were having lunch in the rossiya hotel and the waiter asked natasha something and she translated he asked if you would like to buy ½ a kilo of caviar for 25 u s dollars i said yes of course and after paying for lunch we met in the hall outside the restaurant and received a pound of caviar wrapped in a newspaper i ate caviar every day until i could not eat anymore one thing hard currency couldn t buy was a ticket to the bolshoi but natasha got tickets through her friends the ticket price was very modest but getting access to one took some maneuvering i will never forget going to the bolshoi with natasha it was awesome enough just to be able to go inside and see the crimson gold trimmed seats and the special second story balcony layout front and center that was built for the tsars but to watch swan lake performed in the bolshoi with this beautiful russian woman at my side definitely will always be one of the highlights of my life at the end of the performance every single person rose to their feet in applause yelling bravo and those close to the stage throwing flowers several curtain calls later i was left speechless did i mention that i will never ever forget this night chills run up my spine while i am writing this we also attended a performance of the nutcracker suite and that pretty special also the russians were on to the fact that i had a girlfriend the time i returned with the boom box the driver asked me how is natasha i am sure the floor lady in the rossiya hotel reported the fact that i never slept in my room but to know specifically who i spent my time with i can only chalk up to being spied upon i didn t suspect natasha as being involved even though i knew i could not be totally 100 sure at that point anyway i knew they knew so i didn t need to be coy about it she told me she had a plan before she met me on how to get out of russia a japanese man wanted to marry her and her plan was to marry him go to japan divorce him and go to paris to live she liked to talk about what she knew about russia before the revolution and grandeur of life around the tsar she considered the communists a bunch of thugs in that regard she certainly had a point she took the train down to voronezh twice to visit me which was all right but staying with me we knew would be a problem so i would do in and stand in front of the lady at the desk blocking her view while natasha crept in behind and got in the elevator she then never went out of the building while i was at work we got caught once though coming out of the elevator which i am sure got reported in russia being able to buy a round trip train ticket was not possible so i went with her to the train station while she tried to buy a first class train ticket she was told there were no more spaces which to her meant to bribe the ticket seller when that didn t work she came to me and said fucking communists apparently the bribe was turned down based on ideology i began to have thoughts of marriage even though it would be extremely difficult to accomplish although not impossible one american i knew married one of our interpreters in the end i was asked to leave russia due to natasha apparently we were star crossed lovers without realizing it she met me at sheremetyevo airport before my flight home and when i saw her i had to choke back tears she was all smiles and gave me three tins of caviar i was able to control my emotions then and smiled back i told her i loved her and she replied back with i love you davie she called me a month later when i was home in lancaster urging me to come to moscow but i had to tell her it would be impossible for me i don t know how she managed to accomplish this and before we were finished we were cut off that was the last time i heard from her i often wonder if she married the japanese man and somehow made it to paris natasha i hope you are safe and happy and thank you for being in my life posted by dad e at 12 56 pm 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest tuesday march 19 2013 natasha 1981 82 part i it all began when i stepped out of the chaika limousine in front of the national hotel just steps away from red square it was november 1981 about 6 pm dark and cold two attractive women were walking by and on the spur of the moment i tipped my western cowboy hat to them and one of the women smiled in amusement flashing flirtatious eyes i was quick to note once again i was with three other rca men after getting settled in our hotel and having dinner together the other three men retired to their rooms seeking jet lag relief i wanted to stay awake as long as possible until it was local bedtime this was my second trip to moscow and we stayed the first time at the intourist hotel just around the corner from the national hotel i knew there was a ballroom there where a live combo played making dancing available to vodka and champagne drinking patrons so i took the short walk around the corner leaving my winter coat behind i climbed the stairs to the second floor and entered the ballroom scanning the room to my delight i spied the woman who rewarded my hat tip with a smile and she was sitting at a table with a couple empty seats i approach her table with a reasonable amount of confidence and asked her to dance fortunately she spoke a bit of english after the dance i escorted her back to the table and sat down she spoke to me mostly with her eyes and i could tell she was interested i informed her that my visit to moscow was short but i was due to come back to moscow soon she gave me her phone number and i promised i would call her upon my return her name was natasha or natalie or natalya all of which are appropriate to use depending on the context i am sure we talked more but we did dance at least a couple of more times before i begged off and i needed to find my bed and get some sleep ready for tomorrow s meeting as it turned out plans were made for me to arrive before the end of the year due to some tax advantages that were available should i be a resident for an entire year i left for my permanent assignment on december 29 th from lancaster pa arrived in frankfort at 7 30 am on the 30 th and caught my plane to moscow arriving at 6 15 pm after waiting 45 minutes for my luggage to arrive i cleared customs and was met by a driver who took me to the largest hotel in the world at the time the rossiya hotel just off red square where my greeting party helped check me into one of the 3200 rooms the next morning i called natasha and we arranged to meet in at 3 pm in front of the intourist hotel she walked up wearing a beautiful fur hat and a coat whose trim matched her hat and mid calf boots a picture of elegance after we met we tried to find a restaurant to sit and chat but they were all closed because it was new year s eve day we trekked around the streets adjoining red square for about 40 minutes before finally finding a small buffet we were getting along just fine and we wanted to be together that evening natasha cancelled her plans called a friend and he or she arranged to cram a small table at the edge of the ballroom at the intourist where we celebrated the new year by the time midnight came around most people were loosened up with champagne and vodka and the place was rocking and true to form the music turned to russian gypsy music and good feelings were expressed for all comrades celebrating we caught a cab to natasha s building took the elevator up and entered her flat her place consisted of one room with a small pullman kitchen and bathroom off in one corner was her single sized bed and we soon were sharing the intimacy of our bodies we woke about 11 am and we took a short bus ride to a park next to the metro station the beautiful park was called the exhibition of economic achievement with a large futuristic obelisk as its center piece we had lunch there and later we went to a camping hotel where i met her musician cousin who was part of a rock band i was to leave moscow on the night of the 4 th taking an overnight train ride to voronezh during the interval natasha and i were together most the time enjoying each other in every way possible the night of the 2 nd she took me by way of the metro to the newest hotel and hot spot in moscow called the mezdurodskaya it was quite modern designed and built by a swedish architect with escalators a high ceiling atrium and indoor glass elevators even by today s standards it would be an excellent place to stay we were entertained with a gypsy floor show and according to my notes but i have no memory of it probably because my mind was filled with what was happening to me and on the 3 rd the evening was spent at the suyez with another dramatic floor show followed with dancing on monday january 4 th natasha got off work to meet me at 2 for lunch at the baku restaurant on gorky street we went back to her flat and decided we would try to be together whenever possible we were two lovers well matched intellectually and physically and full of adventure natasha was intoxicating beautiful and oh so classy the fact that the government would frown with our budding relationship only made it more exciting i left for voronezh that evening during long overnight train ride my mind was filled with whirlwind of feelings and thoughts about my experiences during the last few days was natasha a kgb agent who job was to compromise foreigners was her only intent to trap a foreign man into marrying her and providing a path to the west how much could i trust her and do i really want to pursue this exciting creature i had time to be wary trust had to be earned how i feel when i am someone s presence has always been a guideline to me but now i was separated from her and faced with new challenges in voronezh and i needed to deal with them first and foremost i was able to phone her and talk briefly wondering who might be listening in on our conversations as it turned out the plant in voronezh was mostly an assembly plant and some of the critical parts were to be made in vilnius lithuania and in moscow so toward the end of january i returned to moscow to shepherd a technical team from rca men to get the manufacturing process underway i was there for two weeks posted by dad e at 6 57 am 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest thursday january 17 2013 soviet union1981 82 part ii alcohol there are only two alcoholic drinks worth drinking in russia champagne and vodka by the way did you know that vodka translates as little water champagne was available with 5 different sugar contents i liked the one in the middle and missed having it available when i came back to the states where brut is the most popular russians delight in popping champagne corks and if you look at any low hanging ceilings in restaurants to can see the damage corks have affected over the years champagne is usually the drink of choice for the women leaving vodka to men to test their manhood a liter of vodka cost between 7 and 10 rubles making it affordable but not cheap a liter bottle had no screw top or cork just an aluminum tab so when a bottle was opened it pretty much had to be completely consumed there was no way to cap it again without danger of spillage a number of drunks could always be found on the ground passed out even in the dead of winter or see men weaving and reeling down the street needing to prop themselves up every few yards i was not used to seeing drunks so completely out of it i had read that russians men don t really trust another man unless they can drink vodka with them shot for shot indeed i had more than one chance to prove they could trust me and i discovered a previous unknown talent i had being able to outdrink most russians it was considered good manners to always propose a toast and while my toasts were never inspiring or particularly eloquent i learned how to flatter my drinking company or relate my yearning that we all be comrades in search of truth and understanding at work i was always presented with papers to sign which were mostly designed to protect the russians rear ends i suppose in a system where good work goes unrewarded and mistakes are punished this was to be expected the people i dealt with on a daily basis were good communists in the sense that they were able to talk the ideology and were promoted because of it but they were not the brightest bulb once in a while a technical person would be brought into a meeting and i found them to be very competent the average russians knowledge about what was going on in the outside world was very limited which i expected but they were also ignorant about their own government actions and their not too distant history including anything about stalin government officials lived in style while the average citizen had to scurry and scrounge or just learn to live without i found i sympathized with them and identified with their desire for a better life basically i saw soviet citizens as good people except for their willingness to spy on their fellow citizen when i went to a club where there was a large dance floor as soon as the music started to play they were up and dancing none of the...