The Mail-Journal, Volume 22, Number 51, Milford, Kosciusko County, 18 December 1985 — Page 5

Eighth In A Series

Odyssey

By DELLA AND ARCH BAUMGARTNER

IRKUTSK, Siberia, USSR, Tuesday, Oct. 15 - On Wednesday, Oct. 9, our group of touring American journalists, left Yalta by bus for Simferopol, a distance of some 45 minutes, where we boarded a Russian jet for Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbek, another Republic of the USSR.

This was a flight of three and one-half hours, virtually the same as flying from Chicago to Los Angeles. These flying distances give one a real feel for how big the USSR really is. Tashkent is the capital of the Republic of Uzbek, which Republic has 18 million people, and is situated in the south of Russia, several hours flying time from either Kabul, Afghanistan, and/or Peshawar, Pakistan,

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RUSSIA RICH IN MINERALS — Peggyann Hutchison of Medford, Oregon, was interested in the rich minerals of the Soviet Union and posed questions to the knowledgeable lady in charge of the Institute of Geology where many mineral samples were on display.

MEET TASHKENT MAYOR — Tom Coad of near Seattle, Wash., and a member of our touring party, is shown on the left presenting a memento to the mayor of Taskhent, located in the south of the Soviet Union. Taskhent is a sister city to Seattle, and the memento comes from Seattle’s mayor.

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VISIT RUSSIAN CHURCH — Father Vladimir Kondratenko. 55-year-old Keyholder of the Assumption Catholic Church at Tashkent, explained the relation between church and state to us in the courtyard near his church. On the right is Nancy Mathews of Tracy, Calif., who served as our tour leader.

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where we visited in February 1978. Our press tour booked us in the very large, arch-shaped Uzbekistan Hotel. We weren’t able to find out how many rooms it had, but it had to be at least two thousand, for it was a high and wide structure. But, as we found the other Russian hotels, the bedrooms were small. By now it seemed we were forever packing and unpacking. We had begun to

accumulate many little personal items, none of which took up much space, but in the aggregate, required that we purchase another suitcase in Odessa. Meet Tashkent Mayor Tom Coad of our party, a resident of near Seattle, Wash., contacted the Seattle mayor recently when the mayor of Tashkent visited Seattle as part of the international Sister City program. And through this contact and an exchange of letters, we were met at the Tashkent airport with an invitation to meet with the good mayor of Tashkent in his office the following day. He was accompanied at the meeting by his vice mayor, who

happened to be a woman. “Nice to see your city has a woman mayor,” one of our party stated, aslring further about the women’s role in Russian city governments. The mayor pointed out that the role of women is becoming widespread and more important. He told about his visit to Seattle, finding it a hospitable city. “I didp’t find Los Angeles and San Francisco as hospitable,” he said, noting that he was advised not to leave his hotel room at night in those two cities, that it was not safe. He said he just couldn’t understand that. Besides doctors, professional people of all types, artists and performers and others making the long trip to Seattle, the mayor took along his own Uzbek cooks to cook for as many as 250 people. “The Americans we fed were so pleased they called the cooks out of the kitchen twice to applaud for them,” the mayor said. No One Wants War The mayor complimented the journalists for coming all the way to Russia seeking peace. He said you publishers and the people of Seattle are “just like us,” you want peace and not war. He said members of his group were surprised at the cost of food and housing in America. Tashkent, called the “City of Stone,” is the fourth largest city in the USSR, with its two million people. He said the city had no industry before the Revolution, but now has 100 different factories for industry, science and “high levels of culture,” They manufacture airplanes, agriculture machinery, textile machinery, electronics and many consumer items, especially food products. Tashkent exports to 80 foreign countries, and its university has 18,000 students, and its Polytechnical Institute has 35,000 students. Also, three medical colleges, an academy of science, six theaters, a philharmonic society and a children’s theater. One out of every four citizens is studying. Os real importance to this area is what is being done in mechanization of agriculture and irrigation. The mayor said public transportation is subsidized. For example, a subway ride costs five kopeks, whereas the “real cost” is 11 kopeks; a trolly ride costs three kopeks, whereas the actual coSt is eight kopeks. He said members of his party were aghast to find a bus ride in Seattle cost 85 cents. The City Soviet (council of government) has 500 members, 32 percent of whom are women. Os 15 from this group selected to actually run the government, five are women. The mayor said his pay is 200 rubles per month — about $255.00 U.S. Visit Russian Church Russia as it is today is a godless society, yet churches are allowed to continue the practice of their faith. The Soviet government has more than one subtlety to discourage the practice of religion. We visited the Assumption Catholic Church and spoke to 55-year-old Father Vladimir Kondratenko, Keyholder of the Church. It was late morning and many people were inside the church, many standing, many kneeling on the floor. They were all very old people. He said on Sundays there will be as many as 3,000 attend his Russian Orthodox Church. All our conversation was through Nadia, our interpreter. We also visited the Islamic Institute and spoke to Sheikh Gapparov the Mosque. It is the responsibility of the Institute to train clergymen in the Islamic faith, he told us, in what is a fouryear training course, in both Russian and Arabic. They have 50 students, studying in 15 languages. The Sheikh told us,’’“People of different religions must learn to live together in the interest of their common goal — peace.” The Institute is the only such school of Islamic higher learning in Russia, and the study surrounds the teachings of the Islamic Koran. 1966 Earthquake We heard on several occasions about the dreadful earthquake of April 26,1966, when a third of the city was destroyed. Fifteen people were killed and 200 injured. We were driven through the “old city” of Tashkent, which

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consisted of low ghetto-type houses with metal roofs, small rutty streets, no concrete, no sidewalks, but plenty of children. The average family has 15 to 16 children, our city guide told us, which is fast becoming a real problem for Russia. The Arabs are not a militant people, and so it’s unlikely these big families could create portent political problems. Later the same day our group met with two Tashkent journalists in what turned out to be a ho-hum interview, and most notebooks remained blank as the session broke up. They discussed Uzbek poets and writers, and told us of a new youth publication that began five years ago with a 40 thousand press run and now has a run of 260 thousand. These Uzbek people are unique in their dress in that they wear little square hats much like pressroom printers make out of newsprint and wear to keep the hair out of their eyes. Several of our group went to an art museum late in the afternoon while we and Helen Levinson of New Jersey attended a folk dance. We enjoyed it thoroughly, the rhythmic precision of the brightly clad dancers in flowing veils. Coming back to the Uzbekistan Hotel was something else. We couldn’t find a taxi, and by now it was windy and the temperature had dropped precipitously. We hailed three men in a covered jeep, and they obliged by taking us back, to the good humor of all of us. Plane Trip Delayed We were scheduled to fly Saturday morning, Oct. 12, from Tashkent to Novosibirsk, Siberia, but when we got up the temperature had dropped and there was snow on the ground. When we got to the Tashkent Airport, we heard our flight had been delayed due to the closing of the Novosibirsk Airport due to a heavy fog. We sat around the airport for six hours, and finally the order came to be on our way. Needless to say, this was our first visit to Siberia, and all that this country’s name conjures up, all of us had a slight tinge of apprehension. We flew for 2:22 hours in a northeasterly direction, to arrive at this city of a million and one half people at 6:10 p.m. We had to move our clocks up an hour, and now we were just 12 hours ahead of Indiana time. Our hotel at Novosibirsk, the Central, had a Russian name unintelligible to one unschooled in the Russian language, and was billed as one of the better hotels in the city. We each had a “suite,” with two cot-type beds in one room, a desk, comfortable chairs and davenport in another, and a large bathroom. One thing for sure, the Russian hot water never fails us, even in this cold country. It was scalding. A sight-seeing tour around the city revealed, as in all Russian cities, massive buildings, many of them, of course, being apartment buildings. But everyone seemed well dressed against an early morning temperature of 40 to 45 degrees. After driving .though “early Novosibirsk,” a real shantytown, we have to say Russia is making a giant effort to house their people, even though apartments are relatively small. And one gets the feeling the Russians eat well, too, for no one seems to bear a skeletal appearance. On the contrary, most of the people we see possess ample girth. Speaking for ourselves, our meals have been excellent, if slightly loaded with potatoes. Many in our party of journalists rushed out and purchased the large fur hats one customarily sees on Russians, the better to brave the falling temperatures of the oncoming winter chill. They looked rather well, too. Vladimir Our Guide Our guide around Novosibirsk was Vladimir — the only name he gave us. He was tall, well spoken, an associate college professor in sociology working on his Ph. D. Degree. He told us his degree must reflect proficiency in three areas — the first is obligatory, a study and thesis on Marxism and Leninism; the second in languages (Vladimir spoke surprisingly good English for having never been out of the country);

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TEACH THE BRIGHT ONES — Russia is singling out the bright youths, ages 14 to 17, and enrolling them in special schools like the Academy of Science, where we visited at Akademgorodok, near Novosibirsk. We’re shown here in front of the famous Academy.

and the third in the organic sciences, e g., physics, chemistry, like that. Professors are well respected in Russia and are paid accordingly. On the other hand, physicians and lawyers are not held in high esteem and are not paid well. Teach The Bright Ones Vladimir took our group on a long bus ride to Akademgorodok, located outside Novosibirsk, to the Academy of Science, where we were met by the headmaster. He explained the school and its function. There are 550 students in the school, ages 14 to 17 years, and students come here from all over Siberia and a number of other Republics. These are the bright ones, for sure, destined to lead Russia in the years ahead. Grades are ninth and 10th, and the school hopes to add a 11th grade sometime in the future. The headmaster, speaking through Nadia our guide, told us we must all work for peace. We cannot have war. It seemed we were hearing this refrain most everywhere we went. The German juggernaut never got to Siberia (they had their hands full along the Leningrad/ Moscow/Kiev line), but the country got a taste of war, and seems to be spreading the word to insure peace between our two major powers. Later we attended a class (it was Sunday) of boys and girls, and they parried us with questions. It was a cordial and productive give-and-take. Before we had lunch, we visited the Institute of Geology where a bright and enthusiastic curator explained the many ore and oil and gas deposits in Siberia. “Our only problems,” she said, “are suitable roads to reach these remote areas.” Much travel is by way of the circuitous Lena River.

She told us Siberia has more gold and diamond deposits than South Africa. It has more oil than Saudi Arabia. Several years ago

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Russia opened a natural gas line to Europe, and the supply seems limitless. Other deposits include iron and hard coal, sulphur, mica, quartz, zinc and lead; also, asbestos, copper and uranium. The uranium deposits were not marked out on the large lighted map that noted all the other deposits in small colored lights: One half of the world’s coal deposits are in Siberia. When Peggyann Hutchison of Medford, Oregon, told Vladimir, “Yes, we know. The ‘cry of gold’ opened up our West in America.” He could not interpret “cry of gold,” and finally said, “Oh, yes, you mean the Gold Rush, don’t you?” Diamonds were just discovered in the Baikal region in 1954, he said. Visit The Opera In Russia, the state supports culture in a big way, as witness

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the fact that many of these cities have large opera houses. Novosibirsk is no exception. Last night we were accompanied by Helen Levenson of New Jersey to see Rigoletto, and we were more taken by the expanse and quality appointments of the opera house than the opera itself. Large, lifesize, nude, Roman-style statues ringed the room high above the audience. In front of the opera house are several huge metal statues, the central one, of course, of Lenin. Digging is going on in the area in front of the opera house for a new subway. In the afternoon, while we were at the opera, part of our group attended a soccer game between the Siberians and the Auto Workers. In a thrilling, down-to-the-wire match, the Auto Workers tied the score!