Soviet-American Peace Walk

7/30/2019 Soviet-American Peace Walk

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SOVIET-AMERICANPEACE WALKBy Boris Alexeyev and NikoPai lkoyev

Photographs by Yuri Abramochkin, Mikhail Dmitriyev and Oleg lastochkinIt takes less than an hour by plane, six or seven hours by train or overnight by car to cover the. 7700 kilometers between Leningrad and Moscow. This past summer, however, a group of over 506American and Soviet citizens, united by--desire for preserving- eace, chose to go the distance on foot.

he Soviet-American PeaceWalk started atLeningrad's Pulkovo Airport on June 15 ,when the Soviet participants met theAmerican peace supporters. The firsthandshakes, the first smiles, the frrst ac-quaintances. Though they were strangers,it seemed as if old friends who hadn'tseen each other for a long time were get-ting together. Murat Mazarov, who flew toLeningrad from Ashkhabad, the capltal ofTurkmenia, said, "I was looking forwardto meeting the Americans-! had so muchto tell them and so many questrons toask.""The flrst person down the plane's ramp was a tall, dark-haired guyholding a gwltar in his hands," related Soviet participant VFadimir Kopysovfrom Novgorod. "I immediately knew we'd get along. I, too, play the guitarand sing a little. Literally only a few minutes after Logan Hebner, a restau-rant owner from Springdale, Utah, and I shook hands, a group gatheredaround us, so we gave an improvised concerl right there on th e runway.Logan and I frequently sang on the walk. but more ~mportantly,we becamegood friends.'"Neither rain nor summer heat discouraged the peace walkers. Early eachmorning they got up, packed their dents and loaded everythfng onto thecaravan of three trailers and 7 1 buses accompanying them. By eighto'clock they were ready to begin the next leg of the journey.The small town of Vyshniy Volochek, situated 30 0 kilometers northwestof Moscow, is young 'by Russian standards. It as only 217 years old, but thenumber of old monuments makes the clty especially picturesque. Virtuallythe entire populat ion of Vyshniy Volochek turned out to greet the partici-pants in the walk. Dressed in colorfu l attire, people waved Soviet andAmerican flags, held posters and presented flowers from their gardens.The town IS renowned for its textiles. Valentina Gaganova, a weaver fa-mous throughout the Soviet Union, was born and grew up there and makesher 'Rome there today. In the 1960s Gaganova left her advanced work teamfor a less productive team that repeatedly failed to meet its plan targets.Th e problem was not that the team's quota wa s too high but that itsoperations were so poorly organized. Within a short period of time afterjoining the team, Gaganova had made it one of the best.She was awardedthe title of Hero of Socialist Labor for her high performance on the job.Gaganova's action triggered an entire movement in the country.Addressing the peace walkers, Gaganova said: "We welcome you to ourtown since what you brlng with you-a concern for peace on earth-concerns us too. Many women in our town are involved in the antiwarmovement, Through their efforts Vyshniy Volochek hosts, among otherthings, meetings between young people and World War II veterans.

"Our children's survrval, preservation of life on earth-that is what weare striving for, that is what we are living for and t ha t is why we have cometo welcome you to our town."Natalya Kalrnycheva is also a weaver. She came to the town's mainsquare with her three children, ages three to nine. The day before, She hadseen a program about the peace walk on tetevision and wa s ~ntriguedythe story abowt the McWilliams family from Cleveland, Ohlo. TheMcWlli~amseshad brought with them their seven-month-old daughter,whom they carried on the~r ack in typical American fashion. Thinking thatthe American family had left ~ t s aby stroller a t home, Natalya discussedthe matter with her children and dectded to buy a carriage and present it tothe Ohloans the following day.This small vignette from the 44-day peace walk shows quite clearly theatmosphere that enveloped its participants along their entlre route. Theymet the same warmth wherever they were-in b!g crties like Leningrad andMoscow, in small towns like Vyshniy Volochek and in tiny villages.Yarnok, which lies a bit off the Moscow-Leningrad Highway, comprisesjust three dozen log cabins nestled among the rich verdurqof gardens. Thecabins made of thick Togs are solrd and well built.

'T he Americans are coming!" a little village bo y shouted in childlike glee .Fair-haired Serge1 Shepetov, nine, wa s thrilled to see the residents of sucha far-off country as the United States walking down his village street.Prompted by her mother, a little girl gave her doll to nine-year-old Elea-nor Helm from Wash~ngton,who accepted it with a broad grin.From Yamok it was on to Moscow-the end of the journey. Tne song"Moscow Nights." which is known far beyond the borders of the SovietUnion, is a calling card of sorts for the city. The tune was aiso heard manytimes by the peace walkers along their route. So it was no surprise when,as the motorship carrying the participants approached the dock of theMoscow Rtver terminal, many were humming the melody.A n antiwar rally was held dockside, and words in support of world peaceresounded once again. Following the rally, the participants planted "treesof friendship" in a park near the river.During the week spent in Moscow, the American participants went onsightsee~ng rips around the crty, visited the Lenin Mausoleum, toured vari-ous enterprises and met with representatives of the Moscow Peace Com-mlttee. Interesting discussions took place at public organizations, such asth e Soviet Peace Committee, the Sov~etCommittee of War Veterans, theUnion of Soviet Societies fo r Friendship and Cultural Relations wlth ForeignCountries and the Committee of Youth Organizations. One day was de -voted to talking with members of the religious community, vlsitlng Moscowcathedrals and churches and touring Zagorsk, the center of the RussianOrthodox Church.July 4 wa s warm and sunny. The peace walk participants and the thou-sands of Muscovites who had joined them gathered in the morntng in frontof the Soviet Peace Committee offices. From there began a march downProspekt Mlra (Peace Avenue), one of the capital's marn thoroughfares.The march ended in a large antiwar rally at the USSR Exh~bit ion f Eco-nomic Achievements.The focus then turned t o a stadium in Izrnailovo, where a unique concert,which lasted over six hours, wa s held. Prominent performers from theSovlet Union and the United States took part: James Taylor and VladimirPresnyakov, Lama Vajkule and Bonnie Raitt, the Doobie Brothers and theSoviet rock group Autograph. The American virtuoso guitarist CarlosSantana wa s a tremendous hit. "I'm honored to have had the opportunityof taking part in this concert," Santana said. "M y long-standing dream ofvisiting the Soviet Union has come true. Music is a universal language thateverybody can understand. With my performance I join the particrpants inthe peace walk.""In the Uuited States, today is Independence Day, and I'm very pleasedto recelve the good wishes of the Sovlet people." said Raitt. "I believe thattheir wishes ar e sincere."Over the days walking side by side, the participants became very goodfriends. They showed that the concepts "peace" and "the future of human-ity" are inseparable, that all of us on the planet can be good ne~ghbors.

"Your country is wonderful and so are your people. It's a pity that I'veonly just come to know this," sa ~d inda Jewell from Edmonds, Washing-ton. "I'll always remember how I came to spend the night at a Russianwoman's house in Verkhniy Volochln. A s the group walked through thetown. I met a resident who invrted me to her house and 1 gladly accepted.As it turned out, she and 1 go t so wrapped up in talking-of course wewere helped by her daughter, who is studying English in school-that wecompletely lost track of t~rne. t w a s very late, and my new frrend invited meto spend the night there. I found the hospitality and warmth of the Sovietpeople incredible, and I" leaving with the hope for other encounters."The poss~billty f another meeting wa s discussed at a press conferenceheld in Moscow at the Soviet Peace CornmiTtee. F wa s proposed that as~milarwalk be arranged to take place in the U.S. next summer. "Contactsbetween ordinary Americans and Soviet People will destroy the 'enemystereotype,' which has been doggedly forged over many years,"said SO-vlet Peace Cornm~ttee ha~rrnanGenr~khBorovik.Alan bffeld, head of the Arnerlcan delegation, stated: "On the walk wewere unrted by common goals-PTeserviW Peace and ridding humanity ofnuclear weapons. The walk itself brought US closer together.-b


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MESSAGE OF PARTICIPANTSlong time.

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timesno end, as onc.ticipant put i tqo effort is toc

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MZKHAIL GORB.J*CHEV7SREPLYwant t o thank you for your letters, cables and messages exp r~a sin g reai-tudt for the hospitable welcome accorded by the Soviet people ta the

fnnrtictipenh in t he Soviet-American Pea ce Walk.J rhink that the meetings with th ou ~a nd sf Soviet citizens and lively de-

hates on how t o e mu r e n peacefill ru tl lr ~ or our children and paranteehumnnkind'fi survival will remain in the memory or the pence walkers For R

Yuur walk, the firmt ever held hy Soviet and American citizens in th e entirehistory nf relation@ etween t he USSR and the United state , mekes a ~pecifir:conrribution to rh t effort t o huild t s u ~ tnd t o promote m utual underatandin8

W, participants in the Soviet-Arn~rican eace Walk, wish to axprem our and liitnt !~hip, and ifl a fine example of ritixen dipromacy in nction. The

gratitrzda to you, the Soviet people, and the Soviet Poacr Committee for Soviet Iearlership aupporh aucb inifisthem, as they ar e hound to estabJish~ I ~ I I Fordiality and hmpitality. Th e excel lent ly a rg an i td geb t f i p th t r~ u r - good-neighborly r e l s t ion~h e t w ~ n rdinary people in various countries,ing the peace walk from Leninurad to Moscow made it an important and tweak down old RterPOtuMY3 an d help ro create an image n i a p r t n e r a ndm ~ ~ ~ f o r ~ e t t a h l event. We all hiallIy appreciate th e vnsi efforts du e to w hi ~ h friend inntead of an image of an ensmy.t h i n first joint walk wae succesnhilly r~nlized. I ahaw the f ~ e l i n g f ~ , r d o i ~ n doncern expl-enaed in your memagem ni th e

The heartfelt warmth and enthuniasm, Bong, dances and greelinga dh - threat of a ni lc l~ ar olocaunt that looma darkly over humankind and mayh?. h o u ~ a n d sF people rll~ ring he walk amazed and uvemhelrnetl us. dentroy rvery living thing on this planet. From all atandywin~n, ncluding,

Thp solemn ceremonies a t the memorial a i t t ~e min di ng u s a h n t ha horram nat~lrally, he standpoint of morality, th e time hae cum* tn part with nrlclearof w a r completely convinced us that the Soviet people aincprely want think in^, to heat swords into plowrhsres and to put the funds thus relm-atwdpeace. toward meetins social need8 and creativ e purposes. It ie our conviction lhet

Our wafk has contributed to the creation of a n atmnnphere nf deeper the sole alternative to the policy of nuclear silicide and a guarantee afmutual understanding: and hetter r rIa ~io ns etween o ur peoples. It ha s dem- humankind'n nuwival is the creation of a nonviolrnt world, a world Ewe fromonstrated that people from very diff ~re nt ult ur n can cooperate and peace- nuclear weapons.fully settle conflicts. We sincerely hope that these first steps will shorten th e For everyone who treasures peace, the Soviet Union a firm and staunchpath to nuclear disarmament an d peace on earth. ally in the effort to attain these truly sacred goals of humankind. Thia ia the

Keturnina home, we promise to rontinue ou r work aimed at creatina a s~rhstanceof our entire policy. WP will co nt in ue t o i n t ~ n ~ i f ~ur effnrts loworld without war. We h o p that this peace walk was just the first of such take advantage of all existing opportunities for making proprenn toward ehol-actions in trur countries. ishing n~rc learweapons,

Allow us again to express our deepest gratitude to all the people whose I wish you and pour familien health, happiness and prosperity in a worldeffortsbp l pd make th is historic peaciwalk a reality. without warn and weapons.

W i ~ h ope for peace, Participants in the Pea ce Walk Yours, Mikhail Gorh achev


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page (clockwiserap left): Liane46, a graduatefrom Albuquerque,

ew Mexico; Yelena22 , a studentMoscow; Rafael

22 , a collegeand farmworkerSarnta Rosa,Paata29, ascholar

Tbilisi StateSovietEdward McMullan,a radio reporter

New York;Charles47 , a heavydiesel mechanic

Victorville,

a teacher fromD.C.; andVictor

47, secretarythe diocese an d deanW h it e Trinity

~ a l i n i n .column of walkers

for hundredsmeters. Each dayparticipantsfrom 30 tokilometers.

THE PARTICIPANTS SAY. . *Archimandrite Victor Oleinik, 47, secretary of the diocese anddean of White Trinity Church in Kalininr I think my participationin the Soviet-American Peace Walk symbolizes the Russian Or-thodox Church's attitude toward the most important issue ofou r time-the suwiva! of humankind and th e curbing of nuclearweapons.Our church has always stood for peace, On June 22, 1941,when nazF Germany treacherously attacked our country, thehead of the Russian Orthodox Church appealed to believers toprotect peace against the brown plague. Mow again the threatof war hovers over humankind. When I heard about the peacewalk, I approached His Holiness Alexei, Metropolitan of Kalininand Kashrn and a member of our loca! peace committee, re-questing permission to participate. Not only did he give me hfsblessing, but he arranged a reception at the diocese for theparticipants. At the reception we talked. answe~ed heir ques-tions and described how we are preparing to celebrate the1000th anniversary of Christianity in Russia, which will be ob-served next year.Liane Adams, 46. a graduate student from Albuquerque, NewMexico; I've learned about the humani?y of the people here, thatthere are good and bad in all societies and that there is no rightor wrong for everyone-simply what is and what works foreach individual.I wanted to participate in the walk because I think we muststruggle for peace. Nothing I can do is more important. I con-sider our walk to be successful collectively and for me person-ally. I have made friends and built bridges.Edward McMullan, 55, a radio reporter from New Vork City: Myvisit to the Soviet Union has aftered my thinking-and thereforemy ife. I am very grateful to have been able to take part in thisSoviet-American adventure, and I know that it is affecting theconsciousness of our planet as it is transforming my own.Ta live believing that certain lies are true is perhaps t h e mastenslaving state imaginable to me. Thankfully, I have taken amajor step toward my individual freedom. And I have done somerely by sharing this international peace walk experience withmy Sovigt brothers and sisters. Togetherwe have dispelled themany misconceptions we have held about each other. Nolonger will these lies be our reality. And we shall share thisgood news with the good and peace-loving peopleof America.The world is a remarkable place-so rich and full. The peopleof the world are mainly good and kind. There is no real: reasonwhy the world does not work. All that stands in the way ofpeace and harmony on our planet are the lies we tell andbelieve about each other. The day ha s come to change ourways. The time has come to tell the truth about each other-our economic, social and political systems, our true values andfears and goals.The time for thinkers has come. The great experience gainedon this walk has further prepared us to think clearly and to actboldly. Let us go out into the world and declare peace andbrotherhood and sisterhood.Yelena Antonova, 22, a student from Moscow: While we weremarching, we wrote a song, which we titled "The Bridges ofFriendship." The iyrics are in two languages-a verse in Rus-sian followed by a verse in English. We rehearsed the songaboard the buses, during stops and at night when we gatheredaround a bonfire. We also sang many other songs. I like Ameri-can country music very much. The peace walk is about themost interesting thing I've taken part in. It helped me to under-stand so many things. I ust think American youth are wonder-ful-l made so many good friends on the walk. The more weknow about each other, the better the chanca for peace.CharFes Bo rde n, 47 , Victorville, California, heavy equipment die-sel mechanic: This is my first visit to the Soviet Union, and theonly thing 1 knew about your country befora I came to theUSSR for the Soviet-American Peace Walk was what I hadheard throughout my life as an American, through reading

books and talking to people who have been to the SovietUnion.I think the struggle for peace is a very sincere one, and I feelthe American-Soviet walk from Leningrad to Moscow was avery big success. We have made hundreds of friends.At one po~nt met a lonely man alongside the Moscow-Lenin-grad Highway and shook his hand. He began to cry, so I put myarm around him with a gentle smile and he put his head on myshoulder. Then I started crying too. For a few moments welooked at each other and smiled. Then I said Good-by to himwith a wave of my hand and continued the long journey toMoscow.When I get back to the US.. 'll do my best to break down themisunderstanding hat exists between our nations.

Paata Surguladze, 29, a history scholar at Tbilisi State Univer-sity, Soviet Georgia: It's hard to describe how happy I was tomeet Rusudan Kurau, a Georgian like myself, who resides inMiami, Florida. She told me about her relatives in the SovietIJnlon and her father, who went to the United States after theSecond World War. Her father corresponded with his relativesuntil his death in 1959. Kurau still has the letters he receivedfrom his native Georg~a,and before leaving for the USSR, shesent her cousin in Tbilisi a letter. Wa s Kurau surprised to se eher relatives a t the airport in Moscow! The cousin and herhusband had come all the way From Tbilisi to meet her. The twowomen cried with happiness. It was a Scene I will never forget.Ju!ianne Fanning-Halberstdn, 25, a teacher from Washington,D.C.: I have now seen with my own eyes Soviet people, theSoviet land-the cities they have built and the countryside theyhave left untouched. I have gotten a glimpse of the I~festylehere.Perhaps the most precious and rare opportunity on this visithas been the chance to experience firsthand the reaction oftens of thousands of Soviet people to the first Soviet-AmericanPeace Walk as we traveled from town to town.Even though I have seen only a small portion of this hugenation, I have seen enough to reassess my opinions. I amc~n~ i l l c edeace is possible between our countries. Mot justcoexistence in an atmosphere of the cold war, but friendshipand cooperation. Apprecration not only of what is similar be-tween us, but of our very real differences. We came here andthe Soviet peoplemet us here to begin creating that version.I will never forget traveling in the bus and passing people onthe roadside who had come to see us. They had flowers in theirhands to give us: they had posters and handouts. Then 1 wouldlook at their faces, searching for a sign of disappointment,anger-but there was no trace of it! NowherelThe organizers did an incredible ob of coping with the logisti-cal problems. And I 'hope our governments are learning whatcan be accomplished and how differences can be overcome ifAmericans and Soviets accept rnutual goals and put themabove other concerns. We ma y infuriare each other, but we canalso barn to love and respect each other.Rafael fimberoff, 22, a college student and farmworker fromSanta Rosa, California: I 've been in the peace movement sincechildhood because both of my parents have been active in it. Ibelieve that major governments are headed for the final battle.Every year more bombs; every year more resources divertedfrom those in need to the worldwide military bu~ldup. hat's whyI came to the USSR to make peace. I personally cannot enactlegislation to reverse the arms race, but I can work to createbetter relations between our nations, making such legislationmore likely. She warm and loving reception by the people ofRussia encourages me.

1 was unprepared for the tens of thousands of smiling Sovietswho greeted us along our route. This is my first time in th eUSSR. This journey has inspired me to continue to work towardmutual understanding.Peace will net come overnight. Peace wilr not come of its ownaccord. Only through work and patience will peace come. H

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Soviet-American Peace Walk