Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, September 25, 1991, Page 3, Image 3

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    Russian professor arrives in
Eugene after protesting coup
By Colleen Pohlig
Emerald Reporter
Have you ever walked into
your local Safeway and mar
veled at the fact that the
shelves are stocked full of foixi?
Or more importantly, ga/.od
out your window and breathed
a sigh of relief to see cars and
bicyclists rather than tanks and
armed soldiers?
For the next nine months that
Marina Lukanova is teaching
and living in the United States,
she will value and appreciate
these things that Americans of
ten take for granted.
"People are really lucky to
live in h'ugene because for one,
you have clean air. whereas in
STUDENTS
Continued from Page 1
days, Philippic K on/.mine
waited and watched from New
York along with the rest of the
world Rut he had more than a
passing interest in the unfold
ing events.
Kou/.mino had left his home
town of Moscow a week earlier
to come to the United States.
He traveled briefly through the
hast and Midwest before arriv
ing at the University to work on
his master's degree in Russian
history.
As protesters filled the streets
of Moscow, Kou/.minn worried
about their fate, as the memory
of Tiananmen came to mind.
But he wasn't surprised that the
Soviet people stood up and re
fused to follow the new leaders.
"Freedom is like a genie that
escapes from the bottle," he
said. "Once it's out, you (ain't
put it back in.”
In New York, Kou/.mine met
with two Soviet diplomats who
were shocked at the develop
ments The diplomats were re
luctant to cooperute with the
new government, he said, and
that gave him confidence that
tile people would also resist.
Kou/.mine said those three
days moved the country for
ward 10 years, although food
shortages and ethnic conflicts
persist as problems with no
easy answers.
Shutalinu said tho Soviet peo
ple ure impatient for morn
changes.
Since Gorbachov became
president and peristroika be
gan. people were inspired it
was the right time for changes,
she said. But change gave way
to stagnation
"Well, there was an opening,
that's for sure, this is what I
pay my respects to Gorbuchov
for," site said. "Now it's 1991,
six years after peristroika start
ed, and what we have is just
openings in the newspapers,
everybody says what they real
ly want, and that's basically it "
Shatalina and Kouzmine said
they believe Gorbachev and
Russian President Boris Yeltsin
cun cooperate and help move
the country forward, ulthough
the leaders are in an awkward
position
"People think they can work
together," Shatalina said, “but
since the Union is not going to
be tho Union anymore, then
Gorbachev is going to be almost
nobody since he is the presi
dent of the Union.
"I think this is kind of scary
for (Gorbachev) and that's why
Moscow I here is .1 lot of pollu
tion." l.ukanova said "Of
course, we (in the Soviet
Union) don't .have Safewavs
Lukanova, who has heen in
the lJ S only 10 d.ivs, is on a
one year exchange program to
teach Russian at the University
She was fxirn and grew up in
Moscow.
She and her family were re
laxmg at their country home
near Moscow when the coup at
temptoccurred Aug 19
"For me. it happened all of a
sudden." Lukanova said "My
husband woke me up early on
Monday to tell me something
terrible had happened 1 did not
believe him until our friends
called to tell us to turn on the
television "
There was on I v one televi
■'ion station because the coup
loaders canceled tin* other pro
grumming, so there was limited
information about what wns
happening
"It was so s( ary because |
was hearing the same words
th.it I heard in my c In Id hood
about perestroika and collec
tive farming and so on
I heard noise from the
street, so I ran to the window
and saw tanks and soldiers
with guns and I couldn't stop
crying," Lukunovu said
The first day of the coup at
tempt was the most difficult
due to the lack of information,
l.ukanovn said
Turn to SOVIET Pago 6
he ditin't want to lot tho repub
lics ho independent ”
Kou/.mine. who votod for
Yolt.sin, said (lorbachev is not
down and out yet Most people
aro prod it: ting tho und of (iorba
ohov's career, Kouzmtne said,
hut they have to koop in mind
that ho is a vorv floxihlo politi
cian
Tho voting gnnurations aro
ready lor change, hut tho open
ness tint! now view of history
aro hard for somo to tako,
Shat,lima said.
“For people of my grand
mother's ago and my mother
und father's ago, Stalin was for
them somo kind of ideal man
and then it turned out to t>o that
ho was a criminal, so 1 think for
their generation it s still hard to
believe,” she said.
That different view of history
is something that hit Kou/mlno
when he was Ifi and traveling
in Switzerland
He found lh.it people in the
Soviet Union were unaware of
what was really going on be
yond the borders, and were i>e
ing given propaganda und dis
torted information When he re
turned to Moscow, everything
seemed unpleasant, Kou/.mine
said. But it was a turning point.
"Before this trip, I was sort of
a model Soviet communist
child attending all these com
munist organizations They hud
three stages of communist or
ganizations in school and i was
always one of them, so at that
time something broke in my
heart and I couldn't believe
anymore tho things they were
telling mo."
His college years in Moscow
were interrupted in MIH5, when
ho was required to serve the
mandatory two years In the
Russian Army
"It was like the m hool of life,
because almost all mv life I vvas
living with my parents at home
Everybody loved me and it vs as
OR," he saitl "In the army,
thev make you feel like noth
ing One guy from my unit
t ommitled suicide It was real
ly tough, hut on the other hand
I fell lucky because I wasn't
sent to Afghanistan and wasn't
sent to fight Chernobyl.”
Kouzmlne and Shatalina are
optimistic about their futures in
Moscow, where they plan to re
turn within two or three years
to pursue careers in business
Shatalina would like to work
for a Soviet-American firm
Kou/.mino plans to work as a
marketing director and research
expert for a Swedish firm in
Moscow th.it is financing his
education in the United States
Both said the future of the
USSR is hard to predict, hut
they believe the country is
moving in the right direction.
"I think maybe the Union
wouldn’t exist as it used to be,
with 1 r> republics all together,
because the Hallies are already
independent," Shatalina said
"Maybe in the future some
states will tie independent. Hut
most ol the states who get inde
pendence will still Ire part of
the union They are tied so
close to Russia
"If some rcpublir s want to be
independent, it can be made
gradually, so they ran develop
their economy I'm just hoping
that it's going to hi- a more
open economy country. It's a
big land of opportunity now
()rex<>n Daily
PO BOX J»S9. EUGENE OMEGON 9/403
The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday ihrough Enday during the school
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U.S. communist:
Party not dead
By Rene DeCair
fcmofakJ Associate Editor
If beliefs worn punches, ho
would make a gcxxi fighter
A man with his convictions
dons not give in easily.
Ed Hommingson is the
State Chairman of the Ore
gon district of the Commu
nist Party U.S.A and has
been an official Party mem
ber since 1975.
At ti-t, he's lived through
World War II and the Red
Scare of tho 1950's His
brother, as a Communist,
was brought forth to testify
In front of the legendary
Committee on Un-Amorlcan
Activities.
So it is not all that surpris
ing that this kind of political
underdog does not concede
easily, If at all, to the Idea
that communism will soon
bo extinct in the Soviet
Union
Mnmmingson said In an
interview Tuesday that he
does not like to label the
failed coup last month in the
Soviet Union as a failure of
communism, hut rather a
failure of the system of so
Tum to COMMUNIST. Page 6
THE FAR SIDE
By GARY LARSON
Hell s video store
S[x>nsor<-(i by Kenneth Vieras. Associate Professor
Director of Corrections Master's Program
Department of Human Services
October 11. 1991
Developing Capable Youth
presented by II. Stephen Glenn
October 21-22, 1991
Corrections and the Community:
Challenge of the 90’s
October 23-25, 1991
Child Abuse in the 90’s
November 8-9, 1991
Building Self-Pride
in Low Self-Esteem Youth
presented by Jerry Conrath, M S.
Course Description Forms Available at the
Department of Human Services 115 Hendricks Hall
For more information call Elizabeth Charulter at (iH~7 202 I