Looking Back

The US-Russian (nee Soviet) Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty has been cast onto the dustheap of history with scarcely a whimper from the Russian side. As with many things, what seemed unlikely six months ago has all of a sudden become unavoidable.

The ABM Treaty was a relic of the 1970s, President Bush announced when he notified Russia of the US’ intention to withdraw from this, one of the first US-Soviet arms treaties. It’s a new era, he said, the Cold War is over.

OK, fine. But while we’re cleaning out the closets, let’s finish the job. Another relic of the ABM era deserves to share that treaty’s fate. The Jackson-Vanik Amendment of 1974 ties US trade relations with foreign countries to a country’s emigration policies. It means that today Russia must annually submit to a humiliating review in order to receive “normal trade relations” designation through a US presidential waiver.

President Bush’s administration has signalled its desire to completely exempt Russia from Jackson-Vanik, but Congress (which must legislate such permanent exemption) is unwilling to take up the issue.  Perhaps they need a push?

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This issue of the magazine inaugurates the 45th volume of its publication, begun in 1956 (first as The USSR, then as Soviet Life, and finally as Russian Life from 1993 onward), and coincides with the tenth anniversary of Russia’s “shock therapy” reform. We commemorate the latter with an excerpt from Mikhail Butov’s novel, Liberty (page 55) and with Editor Mikhail Ivanov’s ruminations (page 64) on the 1992 “shock therapy.”

In a less momentous anniversary, it was 20 years ago this month that I took my first trip to the USSR, led by an inspiring college teacher, Malcolm Gilbert. More than any single person, I owe to him my love of Russia, its history and culture. (But he was of course blameless in the trip’s episode when I traded my down coat for a fur hat and had to run back to the hotel in a t-shirt.)

Most Russophiles can pinpoint a defining moment when they were, as one interviewee puts it in our Study Russia feature (page 36) “fatally infected” with a love for Russia. And most of us have a single individual to whom we can attribute our introduction to this fascinating culture. These tireless educators, tour guides and citizen ambassadors are daily doing more to bring our countries together than professional diplomats (or congressmen) several times their number. For myself and others in my “condition,” I extend a hearty spasibo.

This issue also takes readers to the wilds of Kamchatka (page 42), in search of an elusive pack of reindeer. Christine Seashore makes vivid the cold barrenness of that region this time of year.

Finally, we have another weighty installment in our year-long-and-then-some series on “100 Young Russians to Watch.” We never could have anticipated the fascinating array of human stories this series has brought us in touch with this past year, but the hard work has been worth it, and we will bring you the final batch of profiles in our next two issues.

Meanwhile, please keep in touch with your letters and emails. And to all of those who were at our 4th Annual Vodka Taste Off and Taste of Russia Dinner, thank you for coming. We hope to see you again next year, no matter what shape the annual event takes.

Enjoy the issue!