My generation was a victim of cold war propaganda. Russia was a mystery to me and probably always will remain so, regardless of the books I read or the trips I take. I have strong feelings for this place and these people. In April, 1973, I went to the Soviet Union with a group of educators studying the school system there. It changed me. Mostly I asked questions; questions which were never answered, of course, but which brought small insights into the nature of this society and of my own. The backdrop for every image I saw, every scrap of personal or theoretical information I received, was based on Lenin's plan to educate each child in the subjugation of the individual to the state. Given human nature, which we so imperfectly understand, could it be possible to oppress a people indefinitely by forms of political control and censorship? On the other hand, could it be possible for a people to govern themselves in an open marketplace of ideas and opportunities? I am still asking these questions.

Twenty years later, In April, 1993, I took six students to Dubna; and I became a student again - in a Russian classroom - struggling to understand a strange language and a culture deep in tradition. Just when I thought I understood why some czar did what he did, a new detail would complicate the truth. And truth in Russia seemed even more fleeting than elsewhere. This occurred to me as a dark-eyed young monk led us through a monastery museum in Zagorsk, from one ancient icon to another, explaining their care and restoration. Layer after layer is removed, revealing the mysterious, hidden shapes and gestures of the sacred forms, painted one over another through the centuries. This is Russia - laden with history; it defies understanding.

In class one day I compared Russia to a matriuska doll, inside of which lies hidden another doll and another and another....Then Svetlana, our history teacher, said, "But America is like the matriuska dolls, too, but openly standing in a row." So, perhaps we understood each other after all.

We had a revealing discussion with Valery Prokh on the innovative moves of the Dubna city government, remarkable in view of the tangle of recent political events and the struggle for power in the provinces and municipalities. Poverty and unemployment threatened at every street corner, and inflation had stolen even the moderately comfortable lifestyle of the professional people of Dubna. The very poor worried that food was scarce and their children would have no protein.

I had been part of the first group from LaCrosse going to Dubna to establish the Sister City relationship. Then the people seemed to be losing faith, their hope destroyed too many times. After perestroika, creative entrepreneurs, found many devious ways to avoid any law aimed at fairness, from the co-operatives of the 80's to the commercial enterprises of the present. Of course, there was the Mafia. However, a new breeze seemed to be stirring. According to Dave Bell, the courageous and dynamic leader of the Dubna Association, people were "holding wild meetings and saying all sorts of crazy things. We don't know how to be democratic; it's like champagne popping after being corked." At a dinner one night, in a moment of deep feeling, someone proposed a toast to truth.

Returning to LaCrosse, I helped write a grant and set up plans for the student exchange. Nadya Anisimova brought students to LaCrosse from Dubna in the fall of 1992 and was the organizing force behind our school experience in Dubna the following spring. She and Yuri Petrovich, principal of School number eight, had solicited money from many sponsors in Dubna to help pay for the sizable expenses of our visit. Nadya arranged special classes and outstanding side trips, among them a superb ballet in Moscow and an opera at the Bolshoi Theater. One cannot compare material offerings to those of the spirit, and with all of the school exchanges to follow, we each offered what we could. I'm sure the scale has balanced in the long run. With headaches and much footwork, we put our dreams into action for real live students. The young people from LaCrosse grew a lot (some of them began as self-centered teenagers), becoming aware of something beyond their own narrow experience. The contact with ordinary people in real homes was the foundation of the change. However, experiencing is not necessarily the same as understanding; for that, the addition of historical and cultural information played a vital part in our growth.

At a farewell gathering, we heard a fine, young women's choir sing a new song, "We shall survive together." That seemed to say it all.

Nancy Ellingson -

I taught English LaCrosse at Central High School, retiring in 1998. From there I taught at UW-LaCrosse until December of 2001. This past January, my husband, Don, and I were privileged to host our dear friend, Nadya Anisimova, for her sixth visit to LaCrosse in various roles of teacher and interpreter. I plan to travel, enjoy my family and friends, and continue to paint and write. Russia is first on my list of places in the world to learn and care about.