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The Russian Soviet Mirage IV The V i llage In tou rist, th e p ropaganda arm of th e R u ssian S oviet h as given th e w eak sp ot o f th e S oviet econ om y, th e collective farm or “kol k hoz,” a v ery special place in th e foreign traveler’s itin erary. T h is is th e b egin n in g o f th e a rt fu l illu sion th ey w ish to create. A fter w ar ob jects th e real “kol k hoz” is th e b est hidden item o f th e S oviet w orld. A ccess to p lan ts, schools or cam ps is m uch easier th an to v isit a S oviet v il lage. W hile som e foreign travelers m ay n ot realize th e im p ortance o f th e kolkhoz y et it rem ains th e v ita l p oin t o f all R u ssian eco nom y, as it is w ith an y n ation. T he d iscern ing, ap p raisin g tou r ist k now s th a t a n ation ea ts to live, from its agricu ltu re. L ike a th erm om eter a sound agricu l tu re p erm eats all levels equally. W ith ou t its abundance, and a h ealth y, h ap p y people producing it, a n ation ’s econom y sp lin ters and sta g n a tes. T h erefore In tou r ist dares n ot om it referen ce to th is dom ain o f econom ic and so cial life o f th e cou n try. T o d etract atten tio n from e x istin g con d itions in th e gen u in e k olkhoz, an ea sy solution w as found. N ear b ig cities a fe w col lective fa rm s w ere created, as sam p les o f S oviet agricu ltu re. O ne o f th ese is included in every travel tour. V ia sp ecial bus, tou r ists are sh ow n ad m in istrative b u ild in gs, stab les, th e m achine park, and even one or tw o dw ell in g h ou ses. T h e C hairm an o f th ese m ock farm s recites fig u res in a rou tin e speech, sim ilar to th e m u seu m ’s gu id e in th e n ear b y city. It is soon clear th a t h is cu rsory rem arks about th is sh am “k olk h oz” hold no in form ation . T he tru e U k rain ian v illa g e lives an oth er life fa r aw ay from th e su b stitu te one. T hank s to th e ex p erien ce o f U N W L A m em bers, w ho v isited th eir n ative land, w e h ave a fe w glim p ses o f th e real “k olkh oz.” V ery fe w g e t p erm is sion fo r such a v isit. B u t w h at th ey saw w as revealin g. * M y ow n fir st im p ression w as a stran ge one. I le ft m y cou n try 40 years ago. R egistered th en , in m y ad olescen t m ind w ere lovely trees and gard en s. A nd n ow th is p ile o f old, w ith ered h ou ses w ith ou t a tree, could it be m y n ative p lace? N o barns, no stab les, n ot even fen ces. L ater I fou n d out all w as u sed fo r firew ood . O f th e w oods w e played in as children th ere w as no trace. It is tru e, in th e m iddle o f th e village a n ew b uild in g sto o d ; th e “cu ltu re p alace” th e d river told m e. M ovies and p lays are p re sen ted th ere to th e v illa g e r s; and d ancin g p arties held. A lth ou gh n ew its facad e w as alread y sh ab b y ; th e w in dow s cleaned long ago. I did n ot recogn ize m y v il lage, alth ou gh it bore th e sam e nam e. M y sister had b een told o f m y com ing. T h erefore I w as n ot a s ton ish ed at fin d in g a h ou sefu l o f relatives and n eigh b ors. I k new everyon e w as eager to see and g reet m e. M any rem em bered m e from m y you th , or w ere ch il dren o f our n eighb ors. B u t w h a t happened n ex t w as to ta lly u nexpected, and out of place in a h om ecom ing. A n un know n m an, o f m iddle age, rela tiv ely w ell dressed, em erged from th e crow d and g reeted m e in th e R u ssian lan gu age. B ew il dered as I w as, I did n ot under stan d h is w ords, m uch less h is role. M y siste r ’s face, w et w ith tears o f jo y w as th e sin gle b rig h t sp ot in th e p ictu re. I em braced her, and our tea rs m in gled. F or w h a t reason w as th is o fficia l per son a t our fir st m eetin g? I w as told la ter th a t th is g reet in g w as prepared lon g b efore. T he C hairm an o f th e collective farm had in sisted on b ein g p re sen t. H e checked m y siste r ’s h ou se beforeh and , and com pleted h er fu rn ish in g s w ith a fe w p iec es, to b e retu rn ed later. H e also stocked her p an try w ith food and b everages, fo r th e tw o w eek s of m y sojourn. W h y th is ex q u isite care, w ould you tell ? B ecau se m y siste r ’s h ou se and food supply w as in bad sh ape, as w as th a t o f all th e villagers. T h is g estu re w as to p reven t m e from seein g th e tru e situ ation . I w as supposed to car ry w ith m e a p ictu re o f seren e and abundant life. B u t it w as n ot all “lovin g care” w e exp erienced . T he crow d I found th e fir st d ay did n ot d is p erse itse lf th e n ex t day, as I hoped. F rom early m ornin g w e had people in th e h ouse. R ela tiv es, n eigh b ors or frien d s, in ter m in gled w ith stran gers. M y sis ter prepared snack s co n tin u a lly ; and in th e even in g a sm all band sh ow ed up. In th e p resen ce o f th is crow d, I had no p rivacy all. A nd w h a t w as w orse — I could n ot en jo y m y siste r ’s com p any. It w as v ery late a t n ig h t w h en all people le ft and in th e dark o f our room w e could, in w h isp ers, exch an ge th o u g h ts. I 16 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 1962 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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