May 24, 2010

Dear friends and colleagues,

Spring wishes from St. Petersburg where sunshine and lovely architecture is finally visible again after an extremely harsh winter. Below my balcony, Russians are skating down the side streets of the Moika Canal, bicyclists are weaving in and out of traffic, and the “kissing bridge” a few meters away is being frequented by couples, who take this excuse to make their perfunctory kiss at the bridge while friends and friendly passersby take their photos. This tradition was started during Czarist times, since the building across the street was Russia’s Cadet Academy, and the cadets’ girlfriends would walk their guy friends home and give parting kisses on this very bridge.

Many of you have inquired about what’s next for CCI and for me. This note will update you about how CCI’s legacy is still alive and at work on both sides of the Atlantic.

I’m happy to tell you that the long-awaited book of CCI’s story will be out by mid-September. I turned the manuscript over to the master editor in mid May. It would have been wonderful if a series of books could have been written to cover all that has happened during those tumultuous 27 years; but alas I had only 350 pages with which to work, and had to reduce the text by half. It required major editing. Photos embellish the written descriptions of our work––I hope you will find yourselves among the pages when you read it.

The book turned out to be an exciting chronicle and an adventure story. It shows how one person at a time, one small group of people at a time, one organization after another, and civic clubs by the hundreds, have together made a huge difference in American and Russian relations. This is a story we need to share with our children and our grandchildren––to show them that ordinary human beings just like themselves, can initiate extraordinary projects––with ripple effects that go on indefinitely.

It will be a pleasure to do book tours, since I love remembering the contents of the book so much. I hope to be at many of your civic clubs across America to hear your stories and to share with you what’s happening to your Russian friends since they left you.

Well, what else is going on under CCI’s banner today?

CCI’s blog: www.Russiaotherpointsofview.com, ROPV as we call it, is getting quite well known. We know that Congress members are checking it and referring others to it. Also that the New York Times correspondents are reading it and even calling to get specific advice. (We hope they are taking seriously our concern about inaccurate and slanted stories.) We were listed among the top ten blogs on Russia issues by one agency. I hope you are checking our blog regularly. We are proud of it.

The Nika Thayer Program, Angels for Angels, is still moving forward with great results. It puts computer laboratories and trainers in Russian orphanages. The children are such dears. When I visited some of the orphanages early this year they were competing to develop the best websites for supporting “Diversity” in all aspects of life. What a teaching tool this was on many levels! Their skills have become quite impressive––and this means they will be able to earn a living after leaving the orphanages at age 17.

Russia Lobby: I’m working with a group of Russian-Americans to organize the first-ever Russia lobby to make sure the U.S.Congress gets a full picture of current events on Russia––unfortunately, the news too often gives a slanted view on all things Russian. Our Congress deserves better, we Americans deserve better, and so do the Russians for that matter.

Russian Rotary Clubs have sprung up in numerous cities throughout Russia as result of PEP. Other Russian cities have CCI business clubs which meet regularly. All feel very close to their US training in your businesses, homes and communities.

Informal Consulting: I do a lot of informal consulting these days for Americans coming to Russia for business or for cultural education and pure pleasure. They range from Americans who participated in our CCI programs, to corporate people who want to expand their work here and need connections or a better sense of what’s really going on in this vast country.

As for Russia, I remain impressed with the co-leadership of President Dmitri Medvedev and Putin as Prime Minister. For the manifold challenges that Russia faces today, two of them working together at the head makes sense to me––there is plenty of work for the two of them. And certainly the average Russian is pleased with their work arrangement.

I’m also greatly pleased that President Obama is beginning to show his real intentions toward creating a more constructive relationship with Russia than existed the eight years before his coming to the oval office. Although the problems in the world are immense today, I still feel that the planet is in a safer place mid-year 2010 than it was several years ago (and certainly 30 years ago)––and that we will weather this stormy economic period and come out wiser and more reality-based than we were before.

I would love to hear from you if you are interested in your area being included in the October and November book tour. Email me at: Sharon@ccisf.org.

Thanks again dear friends for all that you have given to CCI’s programs during the past three decades! None of this magnificent work would have happened without you.

Sincerely,

Sharon Tennison
President