Kinda sucks because before this, I wanted to go to Russia. Seems like a fascinating place. Most of the people I’ve met from there are awesome too.
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I was there 20 years ago with one of those tour groups that lasted about 10 days and went from Moscow to St. Petersburg on an overnight train at the time. Despite the tour group thing, really glad I had the chance to go. Thinking back, it was wild to be inside Lenin’s tomb and see those onion domes in Red Square and the visit to the Winter Palace. Except for the mean old museum ladies who would leap in front of any camera like they were taking a bullet, and the very aggressive pickpocket gypsies (is this ok to say?) the people were as great as you would hope.
Hope it’s safe to visit again some day.
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Went in 2015 and really enjoyed it. Hopefully people will be able to safely go again at some point.
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I went with my high school band my freshman year in (ugh) 1991. Right before communism fell. One guy in my band did get pickpocketed and lost all his money.
In a combination of a fun memory and a big regret, one night, we had the option to just chill in the hotel or go to the Bolshoi. Being a high school boy, I was like, “Bolshoi? Why would I want to go to the ballet?” Those of us who stayed in (which was most of us) gathered in one room, brought cash and snacks and had a big party to donate to the guy who lost his money. Looking back, I should have gone to the Bolshoi, but it was a fun bonding night.
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I was there in 1989 with a high school group. Went to Leningrad, Rostov, Pyatigorsk, and Moscow. We were supposed to go to Tbilisi but there were riots. Got very drunk everywhere we went, there was never a shortage of Russians who wanted to drink with the Americans. In Moscow I got busted trading money on the black market at the Cosmos Hotel. Was briefly interrogated, but they were after the Russian money traders, not me.
I brought extra pairs of jeans and two cartons of Marlboros to trade for stuff. I still have a Soviet Army overcoat that weighs about 50 lbs. I have no use for it and it’s not worth much but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it.
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Was she wrongfully detained tho? I thought it was fact that she broke the law in that country. Are they saying it was a frame-up?
My wife and I visited St. Petersburg for two days during a cruise three years ago, it was truly incredible. We paid extra to get a private tour and it was worth every penny. I could’ve spent a week in the Hermitage alone. I’m sad that we’ll probably never be able to see it again.
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The White House decided she was. Presumably because the sentence she got was excessive to increase her trade value.
Yup, we brought stuff to trade, too, though it was mostly American flag pins and bubble gum in my case. Traded them for lots of Lenin pins (I have a small banner full of them), stacking dolls, painted wooden eggs, and other trinkets. Made sure to get a Russian fur hat, too, with Red Army pin on it.
My travel roommate ended up trading literally everything he had except for the clothes he needed to wear home. Got a carved wooden chess set and all sorts of stuff.
We had a hot, female guide named Olga. She set up a currency exchange in her hotel room every night. It was quite the scene, cash laid out in piles all over her bed. We could use US dollars for a lot of things, but as teenage boys, we wanted to go exchange money just to see Olga on her bed.
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Maybe travelers is okay?
i was in a specialized English language program in school back in the old country, our teacher directed us in school plays and such. so, we as a group were trotted out in front of american and british tourists in moscow. i am fairly sure i only spoke to a foreign kid maybe only once or twice. all tourists were basically mobbed by crowds hoping to trade some coins or other souvenirs.
otoh, around 93-94, after ussr fell, we met a missionary on the commuter train station (might have been mormon) so i actually conversed with them in english, to the absolute amazement of people around. i am pretty sure they gave us a bible in russian.
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well, objectively it’s a bad trade but from a political perspective with the pressure on him makes a lot of sense
whelan is being accused as a spy so that’s just not gonna happen
there are other americans in russian prisons; been traditional that we democracies give up more than we get in those exchanges and I don’t see that trend changing
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Not really a hostage when you break the law ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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Is it? Seriously asking as I don’t know much other than the couple articles I read today. From what I read the dude was scheduled to be released in Aug 2029 and his whole organization was dismantled. Not that he couldn’t get it going again but he was gonna get out in 6.5 years anyway. If we could trade him for Griner who was gonna do 9 years somewhere in Siberia, sounds like an okay deal.
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CHESSMATE LIBS
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She should go full commie and convince the right that Russians brainwashed her
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The State Department makes the determination about whether somebody is “wrongfully detained” based on a variety of factors that go beyond guilt or innocence including:
(2) the individual is being detained solely or substantially because he or she is a United States national;
(3) the individual is being detained solely or substantially to influence United States Government policy or to secure economic or political concessions from the United States Government;
etc.
In Griner’s case, this determination was made on May 3rd. It’s important because it sets in motion a whole bureaucracy that includes the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell (HRFC), the Hostage Response Group (HRG), and the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA).
Biden signed an executive order on July 19 and declared a national emergency related to hostages and wrongful detainees.
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I’ve seen a few comments online that Bout may have been safer in prison. He might want to stay away from open windows when he gets back.