October 30 - Chelyabinsk

This story came together unusually quickly. We got a lot of material yesterday on the square then went over to Nicolai's house for coffee in the evening and again this morning. We may even be able to get the story off by tomorrow evening.

Our hosts Sergei and Lyuba were amused that we were doing a story on the old Communist's who gather across the street from them. Over dinner we learned that Lyuba and her father were both very active in the local Communist Party and Sergei, while not a member of the party, was once a Komsomsol (Communist Youth Organization) leader. Unlike the people we spoke to on Revolution Square, they seem to be making the transition from Communism to Capitalism rather smoothly.

Sergei, who is an electrical engineer holding many Soviet patents, including several for his tank innovations, now works as a business consultant for a private firm. He and Lyuba took their vacation this summer in Italy and hope to travel to America next year.

Lyuba proudly showed us her collection of credit cards.

We were also interested to speak to their 16-year-old daughter, Masha, a Peristroika kid who has only faint memories of her parents and country's Communist past.




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