ESSAY // CULTURAL FUSION AND THE PROMISE OF SODIUM
A long ago trip to Russia is a reminder that nuclear power is destructive, and also a pathway to peace and prosperity
words by Jerome Blakeslee, Jr.
images by Leslie Billhymer
EXCERPT //
We were greeted on arrival at the Kursk station by the Party officer responsible for coordinating our visit and were escorted through the entrance to the administration building, over which loomed a large fresco of workers uniting to tackle the tasks of the day. I was quickly reunited with my American colleagues who had arrived the previous day and greeted warmly by the station staff.
Collectively, we were in disbelief that this meeting was really taking place on Russian soil deep within the Soviet Empire: Before Glasnost, the exchange was not conceivable. Over the next five days we were treated as long-lost relatives by our hosts. With Lenin’s ubiquitous portrait staring over us, we shared details of our technologies, food, and sport—as well as plenty of vodka—throughout five exhausting 14-hour days. To my surprise there was no shortage of food at our well-planned meals in Kurchatov. We concluded our visit Friday night that week under a long gazebo on the banks of the Seym river over a five-course meal, serenaded by a Russian folk minstrel and a series of long vodka toasts to the brave men at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. It was April 26—the fourth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
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