The book that I just quoted from, the one I had bookmarked for passages about Alexander Zimin, was given to me by two remarkable people: an American, Jeremy Azrael, Executive Director of RAND, and his perennial secretary Miriam Levin.
Jeremy founded “The Russian-American Business Elite Forum.”
These two-day informal and press-free meetings of leading American and Russian businessmen have been taking place twice a year since 1996 – one in Moscow, and one in New York. The Forum is not a permanent institution, and in time may cease to exist, but for the time being I see it as something useful and interesting.
I am not sure that I will have another opportunity in this book to revisit these meetings and Jeremy, so here are some pictures from the Forum:
Here he is, Jeremy, standing sideways, the one that Alexander Shokhin is gazing at with such sympathy. Here also is Vasily Shakhnovsky who at the time had not yet had a chance to be on trial; and behind him is Andrei Fursenko who had not yet had a chance to become the Minister of Education.
These pictures are from one of the first Forums when there was still a possibility to enjoy talking with both Vladimir Gusinsky and Kakha Bendukidze. Will there be one ever again? I would hope so. And I am so young in these pictures! What year was it? Most likely, 1997 – plus or minus 1.
The woman in sunglasses is that very Miriam Levin. Unfortunately, there is only this one picture of her in my photo collection – in sunglasses. But what a smile! My wife is also with her in the picture, and once again Jeremy. An American, but smokes like a chimney. Lived too long in Russia. (And I, by the way, haven’t been smoking for a couple of years now. Although I smoked for more than half a century – a lot and with pleasure).
Jeremy amazes me: an American who speaks Russian with a noticeable accent, who nevertheless bears all the markings of a classic Moscow “child of the 60’s.” Once, he invited me to Peredelkino for a day of remembrance of Okudzhava. Please note that it was not I, a native Moscovite, who did the inviting, but he, Jeremy, who invited me to a gathering of friends and fans of the famous bard – where both he and Mira seemed totally at home.

Thinking of Jeremy, I cannot help but show you several more photos from the Forums over the years. I present them to you for no reason but the pleasure of remembering these meetings and looking once again at these likable faces. These are Igor Yurgens, Alexei Mordashov, Kakha Bendukhidze.
The second picture, in which Peter Aven is looking at us, is evidently quite ancient: Oleg Kisilyov was still smoking then.

 

Remembering the businessmen that I got to know at RAND, at the Managing Bureau of RSPP, and at the sessions of Premier’s office Business Council (and those participants rather overlap), it seems to me that many of them belong to the ranks of the greatest and worthiest people that I’ve met on my already-long life journey. Although, as with all living and active people, they’re no angels.
I invite you to take a look at them: why let all these pictures from years past perish in my archive?

 
Anatoly Karachinsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky Vassily Shakhnovsky and Alexei Moradshov Mikhail Fridman and Alexander Mamut Piotr Aven And the two smartest ones: Sergei Karaganov and Kakha Bendukidze, the former – according to some magazine, the latter – just common knowledge Jeremy Azrael, Vladimir Gusinsky, Alexander Shokhin (it was long ago)
 

Speaking about Kakha, in my archive I found photographs of later events associated with him, which I would like to show you here.
In 2003 Kakha accepted Mikhail Saakashvili’s offer to head one of the Georgian ministries and moved to Tbilisi. Incidentally, as far as I know, this change in the status of the Russian businessman, owner of large industrial enterprises at the time, was done in coordination with Putin.
In October of 2004 he invited a group of Russian businessmen and journalists to visit Georgia. Alozan valley… Wine festivals… Here is a festive crowd in a Georgian town. The atmosphere is most relaxed. Note that the crowd is not ogling its minister.
And in the next picture, do you see the man with his arms up in the air?
This is Yuri Kobaladze, another brilliant Georgian. Still a Moscovite, thank God.
The whole atmosphere was friendly and joyful, and not just in this town.

As fate would have it, during one of the sit-down parties I found myself next to Premier Zhvania. He was soon to die in an accident. So this photo is a sort of memorial to him.

 

Later came the shameful anti-Georgian campaign. It was even more stupid and angry than the ones against America and Estonia. Air travel halted to and from Tbilisi. I saw Kakha less and less often… Georgian wines are gone from Moscow…
I watch with bitterness how our current authorities are facilitating the swift disappearance of the Russian language from trans-Caucasus.
Instead of traditional Russian, English is becoming (and possibly has already become finally and irreversibly) the lingua franca in trans-Caucasus.

 

In November, 2007 I got to be present at the pompous first session of the Russian World Fund in a new (for me) building – the palace of the Intellectual Center and Fundamental Library at Moscow State University.
The fund was established by Putin’s decree and is supposed to promote the spread of the Russian language around the world. Among the guests were Moscow University management, governments officials and clergy from our three main religions.
The founders included two ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The restoration of air travel to Tbilisi was not brought up.

 

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