//Hi Ilya, //

Once on *10.07.03* you wrote about "OFFICIAL NOTICE!!!" to Olga Zhegulo
 
 IK>   ...and the man-eater bears  came on Moscow streets  from  the same
 IK> source,  i  think.  

You will be surprised how many people in the other world think so about us.
Common people.

 IK> You    know    nothing   about    centuries   of
 IK> russian-french   relationships,  so  you  disgrace  yourself.

You examined me? Please read _carefully_ what I said first and then conclude.

 IK> These "wild cossacks"  were no more wild then french
"cirrassirs",
 IK> because our two countries were so close

I said "leaving _memories_ about": it means _European_ common opinions. And
have you ever seen a cossack? In a full kit with a sabre? Very impressive.
Imagine him on a horse. What would peaceful bourgeois feel if he'd seen many
weird horsemen in bright and strange uniform with sabres and long spears?

Close relationships? Between some very little percent of population. You don't
take in view that more than 90% of Russians before revolution were peasants
that never heard about France or heard some tales. And still the most of
population live in a country and _never_ saw strangers or is interested in
learning about world. To be honest in any country people generally aren't
interested in the other world.

In 60th French chanson and French films were very popular. We listened Italian
pop music in 80th and loved Andriano Chelentano but nothing more! Close
relations had Communist party of USSR with communist parties of other
countries. Very very little number of Russians were abroad before 90th. To
interest in other counries was undesirable except for interesting in building
communism. Russian tourists were strongly prohibited to meet foreighners.

I can excuse your ignorance because you're from Moscow. The only pity of
Moscow is it's rounded by Russia ;-)

 IK> as two fingers on one hand  before the
 IK> french  revolution (and  after), 

Russia _never_ was close to Europe. We have some foreign affairs and allies.
Sometimes our csars pretended to be friends of Germany or France. Russia was
to big and too different to be a real friend of any European country.

 IK> and  were  fighting  together against
 IK> the enemies (factically in all  wars, except the Napoleon's time).

_Any_ country has allies. And changes them. If interpolate your words Russia
is a close friend of Germany (see 18th century history) and of USA (WWII).

Bye.
O.Z. oz{at}newmail.ru






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