How did that headline feel? Like a compliment? Like an insult? Like a gross generalization?

It has happened to all of us of course.  When you hear someone is from California, Alabama, Minnesota, or Massachusetts, you can’t help but assume you now know something essential about them. But do you?

I have been thinking about Russia a lot lately, with the news of Putin and election hacking and implications of Russia’s inherent evil. When I hear “Russia” though, I don’t think of evil. I think of 1989 when violence broke out in Tbilisi Georgia on April 9th, the event which would mark the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.

As the military batons were raised against peaceful demonstrators, a party of six American artists was taking off from the Montreal airport, final destination Moscow, for a 4-week cultural exchange program. The plan was two weeks in Moscow, two weeks in Tbilisi.  When the party landed they were told there would be some slight changes in plans, but not to worry.

I was one of those Americans.

Part 2 to follow…