It all began when I stepped out of the Chaika limousine in
front of the National Hotel, just steps away from Red Square. It was November, 1981 about 6 PM, dark and
cold. Two attractive women were walking by and on the spur of the moment, I
tipped my western cowboy hat to them, and one of the women smiled in amusement,
flashing flirtatious eyes, I was quick to note.
Once again I was
with three other RCA men.
After getting settled in our hotel and having dinner
together, the other three men retired to their rooms seeking jet lag
relief. I wanted to stay awake as long
as possible until it was local bedtime. This was my second trip to Moscow and
we stayed the first time at the Intourist Hotel just around the corner from the
National Hotel. I knew there was a
ballroom there where a live combo played making dancing available to vodka and
champagne drinking patrons.
So I took the short walk around the corner leaving my winter
coat behind. I climbed the stairs to the second floor and entered the ballroom. Scanning the room, to my delight, I spied the
woman who rewarded my hat tip with a smile and she was sitting at a table with
a couple empty seats. I approach her table with a reasonable amount of
confidence and asked her to dance. Fortunately
she spoke a bit of English. After the
dance I escorted her back to the table and sat down. She spoke to me mostly with her eyes and I
could tell she was interested. I
informed her that my visit to Moscow was short but I was due to come back to
Moscow soon. She gave me her phone
number and I promised I would call her upon my return. Her name was Natasha or
Natalie, or Natalya all of which are appropriate to use depending on the
context.
I am sure we talked more but we did dance at least a couple
of more times before I begged off and I needed to find my bed and get some
sleep ready for tomorrow’s meeting.
As it turned out, plans were made for me to arrive before
the end of the year due to some tax advantages that were available should I be
a resident for an entire year. I left for my permanent assignment on December
29th from Lancaster, PA, arrived in Frankfort, at 7:30 AM on the 30th,
and caught my plane to Moscow, arriving at 6:15 PM. After waiting 45 minutes for my luggage to
arrive, I cleared customs and was met by a driver who took me to the largest
hotel in the world at the time, the Rossiya Hotel, just off Red Square where my
greeting party helped check me into one of the 3200 rooms.
The next morning I called Natasha and we arranged to meet in
at 3 PM in front of the Intourist Hotel.
She walked up wearing a beautiful fur hat and a coat whose trim matched
her hat and mid-calf boots, a picture of elegance. After we met we tried to
find a restaurant to sit and chat but they were all closed because it was New
Year’s Eve day. We trekked around the
streets adjoining Red Square, for about 40 minutes before finally finding a small
buffet. We were getting along just fine
and we wanted to be together that evening.
Natasha cancelled her plans, called a friend and he or she arranged to
cram a small table at the edge of the ballroom at the Intourist where we
celebrated the New Year. By the time
midnight came around, most people were loosened up with champagne and vodka and
the place was rocking and true to form, the music turned to Russian gypsy music
and good feelings were expressed for all comrades celebrating.
We caught a cab to Natasha’s building, took the elevator up
and entered her flat. Her place consisted of one room with a small Pullman
kitchen and bathroom. Off in one corner was
her single sized bed and we soon were sharing the intimacy of our bodies. We woke about 11 AM and we took a short bus
ride to a park next to the Metro station.
The beautiful park was called the Exhibition of Economic Achievement
with a large futuristic obelisk as its center piece. We had lunch there and later we went to a
“camping hotel” where I met her musician cousin who was part of a rock
band.
I was to leave Moscow on the night of the 4th taking
an overnight train ride to Voronezh.
During the interval Natasha and I were together most the time enjoying
each other in every way possible. The
night of the 2nd she took me by way of the Metro, to the newest
hotel and hot spot in Moscow, called the Mezdurodskaya. It was quite modern, designed and built by a
Swedish architect, with escalators, a high ceiling atrium, and indoor glass
elevators. Even by today’s standards it would be an excellent place to
stay. We were entertained with a gypsy floor show
and according to my notes, but I have no memory of it, probably because my mind
was filled with what was happening to me.
And on the 3rd, the evening was spent at the Suyez with another
dramatic floor show followed with dancing.
On Monday January 4th, Natasha got off work to
meet me at 2 for lunch at the Baku restaurant on Gorky Street. We went back to her flat and decided we would
try to be together whenever possible. We
were two lovers, well matched intellectually and physically and full of
adventure. Natasha was intoxicating, beautiful and oh so classy. The fact that
the government would frown with our budding relationship, only made it more exciting.
I left for Voronezh that evening.
During long overnight train ride, my mind was filled with
whirlwind of feelings and thoughts about my experiences during the last few
days. Was Natasha a KGB agent who job was to compromise foreigners? Was her only intent to trap a foreign man into
marrying her and providing a path to the West?
How much could I trust her? And
do I really want to pursue this exciting creature? I had time to be wary. Trust had to be earned.
How I feel when I am someone’s presence has always been a
guideline to me. But now I was separated
from her and faced with new challenges in Voronezh and I needed to deal with
them first and foremost.
I was able to phone her and talk
briefly wondering who might be listening in on our conversations. As it turned
out the plant in Voronezh was mostly an assembly plant and some of the critical
parts were to be made in Vilnius, Lithuania and in Moscow. So toward the end of January I returned to
Moscow to shepherd a technical team from RCA men to get the manufacturing process
underway. I was there for two weeks.
1 comment:
I am enjoying your writings. Thanks.
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