Due to disintegrating  relations between Washington and Russia, the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI) has restarted its "citizen diplomacy" work again. CCI began, as a near-hopeless cause, in 1983 during the peak of the nuclear arms race. We are a non-profit, non-governmental organization with no funding or ties to governments.

CCI's founder and President for 32 years,  Sharon Tennison, will bring a group of 22 Americans from 15 American states to Moscow, Volgograd, Ekaterinburg and StPetersburg May 31 to June 15.  The group is searching for ways to create relevant activities in 2015/16.  

Tennison says," It's critical for citizens of our two nations to work together again to offset ill stereotypes, to better understand the political realities of today, and to rebuild the goodwill bridges that existed from 1985 through most of the 2000s. 

"During those years over 6,000 young Russians from 71 Russian regions studied business development in American companies under CCI's programs.  Numerous other projects and  programs were carried out both in America and in Russia––each creating goodwill and understanding between the two countries.

"American host families and business owners still have great fondness for the Russians who came to them during those earlier decades. They respect Russians'  level of education and culture.  On the Russian side, a swath of warm relations toward Americans goes across Russia's 11 time zones.  Their gratitude to their American trainers and "Moms and Pops," (their home hosts), is unending.  Our 2016 programs will be different since conditions have changed, but there are many ways for citizens to open doors and reduce tensions, even today!"

If the above is used in media, or passed on to other E lists, great -- interviews are possible if notified in advance.

Sharon Tennison
President and Founder
Center for Citizen Initiatives
820 N. Delaware St.
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-458-8115
Email:  sharon@ccisf.org
Author:  The Power of Impossible Ideas
Site: www.ccisf.org (under revision)
Blog:  www.russiaotherpointsofview.com
Rotary Club of Palo Alto, CA.



All statements in this report are an opinion of the author. Act at your own risk. Russia & America Goodwill Association (RAGA) is not responsible for the content of the article. Any views or opinions presented in this report are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RAGA. Any liability in respect to this communication remain with the author.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org

One of the benefits of the live and continuous broadcasting of the 70th Anniversary Victory Day Celebrations in Moscow via Vesti 24 and Pervy Kanal/RT was that we would-be commentators seated at home in Brussels, New York or wherever could follow the events without intermediation of professional reporters advising on what we should make of it all, without cuts and selective editing from central studios. Given the wealth of material for those of us with Kremlinology backgrounds from a day that began at 10.00 am Moscow time and continued well into the night, our cup runneth over. Not only can we draw our own conclusions, but we can see with perfect clarity what was picked up by our mainstream media from a cornucopia of messages to suit their preconceived ideas. And it would be naïve to deny that the Kremlin surely intended to present a variety of images of Russia, even mutually contradictory images, to draw the greatest possible attention to itself.

The complexity also arose from the two very different audiences being addressed: Russians and the world at large. For the Russian population, this was a day of bread and circus. To put it in Vladimir Putin’s language, it was the biggest, most lavish block party since the opening day ceremony of the Sochi Olympics. For the world at large, it was a reminder of Russia’s decisive role in the defeat of Nazi Germany and also a demonstration of its growing military might now that the Bear is Back. Moreover, by the central role accorded throughout the day to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was ever at Vladimir Putin’s side, and by the announcement of various major Russian-Chinese commercial agreements, the fruits of Russia’s pivot to the East and its new independence from the Atlantic Community were underscored for all to see.

Vladimir Putin’s short speech opening the parade was itself rich in nuances. Notwithstanding the celebratory mood, he saw fit to castigate US foreign policy for its pursuit of a unipolar world and military block mentality that denies equal security for all. This was the raisin taken from the cake by the Financial Times coverage: “Putin takes swipe at US in parade speech.” By contrast both the BBC and Euronews reports on the parade highlighted the Russian President’s bouquet in the speech to the wartime Allies who were not present at the parade - the U.K., France and the USA – expressing gratitude for their contribution to the common cause of defeating Nazism.

And then there was the United States print media reporting of Moscow’s celebrations. The New York Times led the way with zero coverage. As I write these lines on the day after, theNYT has not posted a single article on its online edition. Even The Washington Post saw fit to put up an article, to be sure, on how the West was absent from the Moscow events, a continuation of the black PR that we have seen for at least the last 18 months.

The parade itself was declared by the Kremlin to be the largest military show in history. That may place it in the Guinness Book of Records, but it tells only part of the story. For a layman, the parade was not just about who was present on the reviewing stand and who was not, which honor guard troops from which countries were present and which were not. Yes, the Western leaders were absent while BRICS and other nations we would previously call ‘nonaligned’ were present. But you had the pageant of Azerbaijan troops being followed directly by Armenian troops; this made Moscow the city where lions and lambs exercised mutual respect and restrain, at least for the day. The rollout of Russia’s latest military hardware was important for foreign military attaches in attendance and to prove the words of Russia’s leadership to its people about the vast improvements in national defense achieved in the past several years. Otherwise this part of the day did not break new ground.

What came next in the celebrations was entirely different and marks the age of Putin. I have in mind the so-called “Regiment of Immortals,” the march of perhaps 500,000 ordinary Russians through Red Square, each carrying photographs of their “family heroes,” their parents, grandparents, great grandparents who fought in the Great Patriotic War and died in battle or who otherwise did not live to see this 70th anniversary celebration. This march was repeated all across Russia with reports that as many as 4 million people took part.

Successful politicians are by nature or training photogenic kissers of small babies. In joining this “regiment of immortals” and carrying a photo of his own father who fought in the war as a simple soldier, not a decorated general, Vladimir Putin took politics to the heights of statesmanship. He drove home the point that this is a day for every Russian family and not just a pompous show of military capability for the high and mighty to strut on the stage. He invited a sea of emotion to sweep the land. Here you had the bread.

A BBC reporter in Moscow shared with viewers some very relevant information to appreciate what Vladimir Putin was tapping into. She cited a recent poll of Russians asking them to name the most important day in the calendar to them. Twenty-six percent said it is their birthday. Forty-two percent said it is 9 May.

The impact of the ‘regiment of immortals’ procession was such that even the normally dry-eyed UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who took part in the Moscow proceedings, commented to reporters that what he first supposed was a mass demonstration against the government was to his surprise, a vast wave of support for the Kremlin leadership. He congratulated Vladimir Putin for earning this high regard of his people. No wonder the Obama administration took such pains to keep the Allies from coming to the ceremony.

The day did not end there. In the evening, there was a gala performance staged on Red Square that combined all the talents of song, mass choreography and other entertainment forms that had first been put on display in the Sochi Olympics opening event. In Sochi, the message was that Russia has its own traditions of both popular and high culture but is open to the world and hospitable to all. Here was the circus, and as almost always in such efforts by the Russians, it was at a supremely professional level of execution, showing very great respect for the spectators, both those on the Square and the others watching it on their television as I did. And it all ended on the traditional note of a fireworks display.

During the day, press releases on the Russian-Chinese commercial deals that were being concluded ever since the arrival of President Xi Jinping in Moscow the day before gave substance to the featured position given to the Chinese leader in the constant company of Putin all day long. The most important of the announcements concerns the New Silk Road, which Beijing now will run in a Northern route passing through Russia as opposed to the expected Southern route bypassing Russia. This is a change of thinking and of politics that puts Europe on notice. Germany especially has been looking to the Silk Road as a boon to the enormous goods traffic between the world’s two largest export nations, Germany and China. Now that route, with all the opportunities for investment and participation, passes through Moscow, not Teheran.

No doubt, Richard Nixon is turning over in his grave. It took the hard work of two US administrations, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to undo the geopolitical achievements of one of America’s greatest president-Realpolitik strategists. But now Nixon’s work is undone, and a very different new World Order is emerging from the rubble of the post-Cold War period.

© Gilbert Doctorow, 2015

G. Doctorow is an occasional guest lecturer at St. Petersburg State University and Research Fellow of the American University in Moscow. His latest book, Stepping Out of Line: Collected (Nonconformist) Essays on Russian-American Relations, 2008-12, is available in paperback and e-book from Amazon.com and affiliated websites worldwide.

All statements in this report are an opinion of the author. Act at your own risk. Russia & America Goodwill Association (RAGA) is not responsible for the content of the article. Any views or opinions presented in this report are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RAGA. Any liability in respect to this communication remain with the author.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org

Streamed live on May 9, 2015
The Victory Day parade staged a military show in the heart of Moscow 
to mark the 70 year of WWII Victory. 
LEARN MORE:http://9may.rt.com

© RT.com

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org

Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association and antiwar colleagues!

First of all, Congratulations to our Russian friends on the 70th anniversary of Victory over Germany! Please review its significance by clicking  http://9may.rt.com/

Alas, the USA and its NATO allies will be most conspicuous by their absence during the huge military parade in Moscow on May 9th. My friend and RAGA associate Martin Sieff explains in the Nation magazine why their absence is offensive to the Russians, as well as all nations of the former USSR who greatly contributed to the defeat of the Nazi Germany. He also deplores a great opportunity Western powers are missing to improve relations with Russia.

<<These spiteful and petty acts, enthusiastically embraced by American neoliberals and neoconservatives alike, can only further embitter Russians against the West. And the campaign is doomed to fail anyway. It will certainly not “isolate” Russia, which is playing host this weekend to powerful leaders from around the globe, including China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. More than one-third of the total population of the world will be represented at the events.>> Martin Sieff May 7, 2015 

http://www.thenation.com/article/206657/why-obama-trying-spoil-victory-day-anniversary

 The Tree planting ceremony in Moscow to commemorate the meeting of Soviet and American troops on the Elbe River in April 1945 went just fine, receiving a good coverage in Russian media. I was unable to attend it, but all reports indicate it was a success of peoples diplomacy. Ed Lozansky, president of American University in Moscow, was pleasantly surprised that Andrew McLean, First Secretary of US Embassy, spoke at the event, while Victoria Nuland attended the Washington counterpart of the event. The highlights of the Moscow ceremony were when Russian General Aleksandr Adgamov spoke and then Raymond McGovern, a former high-ranking CIA official who used to brief President Ronald Reagan, read Nikolai Nekrasov's antiwar poem, and he did it in Russian!

Here is Ed's laconic email report:
<<I know you had Nuland at the Elbe ceremony in Washington (surprise, surprise) but we had US Embassy officials too in Moscow. What is going on?>>

The rest is in Russian
https://youtu.be/_L6BKfSAtVY
http://msrs.ru/ournews/2015-04-14
http://www.msk.kp.ru/daily/26372.5/3252925/ >>

Missing good English? Read Ray McGovern's article "The West Snubs Russia over V-E Day"

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/04/20/the-west-snubs-russia-over-v-e-day/

<<Exclusive: Last year’s U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine – followed by violence and tensions – has soured plans for the May 9 commemoration in Moscow of World War II’s V-E Day, the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany, a war which cost the Russian people nearly 27 million dead, as ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern describes.>>

Watch Peter Lavelle's RT show in which Mary Dejevsky, John Lockland, and Ed Lozansky evaluate Vladimir Putin's 15 years at the top of Russian politics
http://politikus.ru/video/49209-rt-d-crosstalk-putin-15-let-u-vlasti.html

Read also Alexander Mercouris, Tue, Apr 28, 2015, article in Russia Insider
http://russia-insider.com/en/fifteen-years-putin/6145

<<As the Russian President looks forward to the fifteenth anniversary of his first election to office, we consider some of the factors that explain his extraordinary political success.>> 

<<I have previously spoken of the danger of the unhealthy conflation of Putin with Russia that is so common in the West. Russia is more than Putin and Russia matters. Indeed it is one of the great powers of this world and the last 15 years have been a lesson proving that. Westerners who treated Russia as down and out and who now rage against Putin are basically angry because he and Russia have proved them wrong.>>

Tired of endless dead-end in US-Russia relations? Read Graham Allison and Dimitri K. Simes,

"Could a U.S. response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine provoke a confrontation that leads to a U.S.-Russian war?"April 20, 2015
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/russia-america-stumbling-war-12662

Their conclusion:
<<Having managed a confrontation over the Soviet Union’s attempt to install nuclear-tipped missiles in Cuba that he believed had a one-in-three chance of ending in nuclear war, President John F. Kennedy spent many hours reflecting on the lessons from that experience. The most important of these he offered to his successors in these words: “Above all, while defending our vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.” It is a lesson statesmen should apply to meet the challenge Russia poses in Ukraine today.>>

Tired of politics? 

Calm yourself at the sights of Russia the eternal, thanks to Professor William Brumsfield's tireless endeavor to create a pictorial record of Russia which was on the brink of extinction in the USSR, but now is rising again. That's where Western politicians are crucially wrong: Putin is a former KGB officer, but he leads not a Marxist-Leninist ideological global power, but a new Russia that harks back to the spirituality of the old. Read the stories of Kozelsk and Optina Pustyn in Brumfield's words:

<<My current article for Russia beyond the Headlines is devoted to the town of Kozelsk, in Kaluga Province to the southwest of Moscow.http://rbth.com/travel/2015/05/01/kozelsk_a_town_resolute_in_defense_of_the_heartland_45669.html
Kozelsk is known for its legendary resistance to the Mongol forces of Batu Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan) in the spring of 1238. Kozelskalso played a role in the Battle of Moscow, a strategic Soviet victory at the end of 1941. Near the town is the large Optina Pustyn Monastery, subject of one of my recent articles in this series. http://rbth.com/travel/2014/10/03/optina_pustyn_spiritual_retreat_of_tolstoy_and_dostoevsky_40345.html For best results with the slide show (full screen), click the 4-arrow icon at lower right of photo window.

This is the 125th of my articles and photo essays on Russia's architectural and cultural heritage for the foreign-language service of the Russian national newspaper Rossiiskaia Gazeta. A unified link to the series can be found at: http://rbth.ru/discovering_russia   Through this link a total of 3,686 photographs from my documentary work in Russia are now accessible.
WB>>

RAGA mourns the death of the great Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya who did so much for bringing Russia to many an American home.

Malice to None. Good Will  to All. 
Peace and Justice to the World.
миру мир и благоволение в сердцах

 From RAGA site:
"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."

Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (=Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA

All statements in this report are an opinion of the author. Act at your own risk. Russia & America Goodwill Association (RAGA) is not responsible for the content of the article. Any views or opinions presented in this report are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RAGA. Any liability in respect to this communication remain with the author.

RAGA News
www.RAGA.org