Dave's beat includes Russia and 17 former Soviet satellites that are now republics. He has already been to Siberia twice this winter and has written of the starvation and hardships there. He's also written about Russia's neglected orphans and the elderly and how the economic devastation has hurt them. They have been under unbelievable conditions for centuries, including the czars, but they've always survived. I think it's because they share with one another through the hardships.
Friendships are stronger over there.
Fortunately, Dave has some help in the mammoth job he faces, including an interpreter to help him over his fractured Russian. Some gestures, though, slice right through the language barrier. Dave remembered interviewing an aged Russian woman, her tales recalling her proud role in helping fight off the Nazi menace during World War II, mostly by patching up Soviet soldiers' uniforms, and how her pension now would not even allow her to procure medicine. Under the circumstances, it's hard not to get attached to such people. Bill Whitaker, who can verify that there truly is something as vast and distinctive as a Russian soul, can be reached at 676-6732.