Victory Was Theirs

How the world leaders were greeted in Moscow

Celebration!

KOMMERSANT Daily,
MAY 11, 2005

Russian authorities celebrated Victory Day in full force. Kommersant
special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov spent three days at the
Kremlin events and witnessed their most dramatic moments.

Everything as Promised

Russian President Vladimir Putin started the Victory Day ceremonies on
May 7 on Poklonnaya Hill. Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov
unveiled (literally, from under a white sheet) 15 stelae symbolizing
the fronts and fleets of the Red Army and their partisan units. It is
hard to find the words to describe the bronze stelae. But there is no
doubt that they will find a worthy place between the palm trees and
the remains of the ships sent out by Peter the Great that are now
spread around Poklonnaya Hill at the artistic will of Zurab Tsereteli.

Between the stelae on the allee on the way to the Central Museum of
the Great Patriotic War, there were stalls selling baked potatoes and
doughnuts and the officials present admitted unanimously that they
liked it all very much, even though they all looked the other way from
each other.

I jumped a little bit when I looked at the richly decorated stage by
the entrance to the museum where a concert was to be held on the next
day. On the right side of the stage, `Stalin’ was written in huge
letters in blue letters against the brown marble. It was probably to
recapture the spirit of the days when the Reichstag was taken.

The beginning was promising. Journalists got a taste of the meeting
between the winners and the won (that was the day before 50-some world
leaders were expected to arrive, including German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi).

The international press center was located in the concert hall of the
Rossiya Hotel. To be honest, I entered it with trepidation, thinking
that I would not be able to see any of my foreign colleagues
there. But when I found the strength within myself to look harder, I
heaved a sigh of relief. There wasall of it that was possible to do
with a Singer sewing machine and a sheaf-binder from the collective
farm. It was as if one big, huge rubber were stretched over the whole
hall. The air conditioner was working. Everyone had computer access
(with leftovers). There was food too. Phone calls were free anywhere
in the world. Nothing was wanting. It looked very suspicious. The
organizers really wanted the journalists to be happy.

Turkmenbashi Lets His Hair Down

On May 8, the CIS summit began at the Hotel President. Presidents
Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and
Saparmurat Niyazev of Turkmenistan, who had refused to meet with any
body for a long time, sat together at one table. Kyrgyzstan was
represented by its acting president Kurmanbek Bakiev, who tried not to
say anything unneeded.

But what couldn’t you say about him? He seems to be prepared for
anything from the journalists and he said all the right things about
the CIS. The tapes of the meeting were erased somehow. It was a real
shame. Everyone knows that every word Turkmenbashi says is
golden. Every Russian official that could be found refused to comment
on it. When I found Ukrainian officials who were willing to comment on
it, I understood why the Russians refused.

First of all, Turkmenbashi decided to comment on why the CIS was
founded to begin with. He told about how the leader of the former
Soviet republics met together (`They went to him,’ Turkmenb. said,
joylessly pointing at Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev). They
gabbed a lot but didn’t say anything about anything important,
according to Turkmenb. But then suddenly Nazarbaev and Yeltsin got up
and left together. Turkmenb. was amazed but kept face. They were gone
for two hours, which amazed him even more, although he didn’t let it
show. When they came back, they suggested that everyone sign an
agreement on a Commonwealth of Independent States. Turkmenb. was
astounded already, but didn’t let it show and sign the document any
way.

The president of Kazakhstan smartly let that story go without comment.

It was clear any way that, while everyone else sat quietly,
Turkmenb. came up with a number of complaints. It seems that, even
now, he cannot sleep at night because, about two years ago, they had
elected Leonid Kuchma president of the CIS.

`Ukraine isn’t a member of the CIS at all,’ cried Turkmenb.`As if
anyone doesn’t know that already! But they made him the chairman any
way. It’s obvious why the elections went into the ground for him. So
where is he now with his elections?’

Then the Turkmenistan president called attention once again to the
president of Kazakhstan and he began to speak about natural gas.

`So who should I cooperate with here?’ he asked. `With them, or what?’
He pointed to Nazarbaev.

`Yes, you have all the capacity and all the infrastructure,’ he
said. `Of the last century! It would be better for me to seek out
other markets and other partners.’

The president of Kazakhstan remained silent as usual. But the
president of Ukraine woke up a little. He had, to much renown, awarded
Turkmenb.’s father a posthumous award recently (Niyazov himself had
received an award from Kuchma.) and that was to draw more attention
to himself on the market. Neither of them was far from the Kazakhstan
in capacity or infrastructure.

As a result, Niyazov, after many years’ absence at the CIS summit,
became the main figure there. That was an indication that the CIS had
come to an end.

The Ukrainian president gave a fairly long speech himself. Everyone
was amazed at how constructive it was. The upshot was that, if anyone
still thought that the CIS had any future, Viktor Yushchenko was
it. In other words, no matter how grand he was, there was no future
for the CIS.

Conflicts in the Hallways

In the second half of the day, the leaders of the CIS were supposed t
meet veterans of the Second World War on the square in front of the
Bolshoy Theater. Considering the huge amount of publicity the event
had received, it was an ine stimable chance. It was to be a lyrical
adagio to the militant baritone of the festivities.

A few modest raindrops fell in the minutes leading up to the
festivities. In the lead-up to the event, everybody had heard a lot of
impressive verbiage about how everyone had learned their lessons about
how they had been able to hold off the rain in the proceeding years
but now they had learned their lesson from those times when they had
been able to hold off the clouds until it was almost too late and then
rain fell on the downtown.

I was not put off by the first drops. I was sure that the biggest
possible downpour would happen before it all. It was almost impossible
to imagine that the rain would get worse now, when the leaders of the
CIS and veterans of WWII would be together under the open skies for 20
minutes. It wasn’t even funny.

The downpour started five minutes later.

The event was relocated into the foyer of the new building of the
Bolshoy Theater. The buzz of the metal detector echoed in everyone’s
ears as the veterans, who had come to Moscow from every republic of
the former USSR, passed through the metal detector. Their medals set
it off. They were kept apart from journalists and now were breathing
heavily. Some of them sat down at the banquet tables, but stood up
again when it became clear that nothing could be seen from there.

In the foyer, head of the Federal; Agency for Culture Mikhail Shvydkoy
was standing with Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov.

`How interesting the mayor’s events turn out,’ Shvydkoy said
thoughtfully. ` For some reason, rain never falls on his events.’

`You don’t think it’s a coincidence?’ I asked, even though I didn’t
think for a second that that was true.

`Do you think so?’ Shvydkoy asked. `Is it also a coincidence when rain
always falls on federal events?’

There was no evading it.

The CIS leaders quickly came on scene and began greeting the
veterans. There was no room for anyone else. Putin and Lukashenko were
leading the way.

Georgian veterans threw themselves on Putin. They crowded everybody
else out.

`What can you tell us, Vladimir Vladimirovich,’ they asked.

`Nothing,’ the Russian president answered surprisingly.

I couldn’t believe my ears. Was he really so offended at Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili, who didn’t come for the fun, that he
didn’t want to talk to the Georgian veterans who did come?

`I can’t say anything,’ Putin repeated. `I can onlycongratulate you on
this holiday.’

The veterans themselves looked relieved.

The presidents from the CIS looked confused. They didn’t know what to
do with themselves. They weren’t used to circulating.

`Let’s go on together, the Russian president suggested, looking at his
colleagues who had paused around the broad shoulders of Moldovan
President Vladimir Voronin. Voronin nodded his assent.

Those who wanted to gathered around him.

`His victories are ours!’ they implored the president of Tajikistan as
veterans pulled on his sleeves.

`Okay, wait,’ Emomali Rakhmanov answered.

And he shamelessly led the way. He made it all the way up to Putin. He
grabbed him and pulled him toward some veterans. They cried out of
happiness.

`What? Isn’t the time with the veterans working out?’ I asked the
Turkmenistani president when I unexpectedly bumped up against him.

`Yeah,’ he said, looking me in the eyes. `It’s crowded.’

`Islam Karimovich,’ Uzbeks in the crowd shouted to their
president. `Come here! Putin has gone to talk to the Armenians.’

`The most popular president in the world!’ the Armenians cried in
greeting to Putin.

I automatically looked for Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, and
found him. He was standing to the side and looking unexpectedly
self-satisfied. Everyone had said that he had refused to come to
Moscow on May 8 to avoid even seeing Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev on the anniversary of the seizure by Armenian troops of the
city of Shusha. He was not at the CIS summit. But still, it seems, he
had come.

Finally they asked the presidents to take their places at the
table. The festival concert was beginning. The presidents quickly
(exceedingly so) left the foyer. Only Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko remained, surrounded by journalists. Before he could answer
their questions, Yushchenko spotted a passing veteran, called him over
and hugged him in front of the television cameras.He reeled from the
unexpected attention, but remained on his feet. Yushchenko wouldn’t
have let him fall anyway. He had a tight grip on him.

Yushchenko spent ten minutes answering journalists’ questions. He gave
his summit speech over again. He told them how the European Union has
united around the idea of coal and the time had come for the CIS to do
likewise.

`Maybe the CIS isn’t the best political project,’ the Ukrainian
president speculated, still repeating his summit thoughts. `But if it
weren’tfor it, it would have been harder to formulate relations in the
former USSR.’

`Will Ukraine remain a CIS member?’ he was asked.

`The CIS isn’t very interesting in its present form,’ Yushchenko
answered. ` But if the CIS will work in the interests of Ukraine- You
see, I want to emphasize with my presence here in Moscow that, if the
CIS is going to be an effective instrument, then yes’

By that time, Yushchenko had already met face-to-face with Putin and
talked with him for half an hour about the CIS, the single economic
space and borders. Yushchenko spent his time in Moscow well and was
planning to spend another morning here as well. He made two correct
decisions. He first refused to participate in the parade on May 9 and
then changed his mind and agreed to it.

That was not the biggest turnabout of the day, however. Everyone was
still waiting for U.S. President George W. Bush.

Putin Makes an Expenses Purchase

Putin received him in his suburban residence in Novo-Ogarevo. Bush
traveled through an emptied city to the presidential residence. He
probably didn’t understand why the city where he was to celebrate the
end of World War Two with unprecedented spectacles was deserted. Putin
could have explained that it was because it was raining and everyone
had stayed home. The rain really was unrelenting, although devotees of
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov withstood it.

Bush arrived in a stretch limousine at the entrance to the villa where
Putin was to receive guests without escort cars, which remained at the
second gates to the residence (their parking places had been the
subject of grueling negotiations).

The U.S. president was the first one out of the car, with flowers in
his hands. Putin came out of the house and met him half way, also with
flowers.They hugged and slapped their bouquets on each others’ backs,
but didn’t exchange the flowers. It looked pretty strange from the
sidelines. Then it became clear that the bouquets were meant for the
respective first ladies. They took them and went off to the second
floor.

`Let’s go to my office,’ Putin suggested.

It cannot be said that no one else had been honored with such a
suggestion. As a matter of fact, that is the only place, without
exception, where Putin’s working meetings take place. Even the
U.S. president had already been there before, two years ago. But he
seemed to have forgotten. He looked around with great curiosity. He
fingered the seat where the Russian president usually sat and asked
what kind of leather it was made of. From his expression, it was clear
that Putin had never thought of it before and that he would be
consumed by the question for a long time to come.

Then the U.S. president became interested in the map of Russia in the
wall. They approached it together.

`God, what a big country!’ Bush said.

The impression arose that that was the first time he understood what
he was dealing with. He pointed to the Urals and moved his lips as
though recalling something. (It then became clear that he had nothing
to recall on that account.)

`But where is Murmansk?’ he asked.

Putin showed him Murmansk.

It was not by chance that Bush asked about Murmansk. He had recalled
the Allies’ sea convoys that had not made it that far during the
war. Then the U.S. president was able to find the Sakhalin-1 and
Sakhalin-2 oil fields. Then there was nowhere else for him to go.

Sitting there around the coffee table in front of the bay window to
the right of his desk, they talked for half an hour without
intermediaries. Bush’s assistants took that badly. As is well known,
they don’t like to leave the president unattended.

After that, they met with the journalists who had been waiting the
whole time. No questions were allowed. That was a matter of protocol
and the U.S. president’s press service has insisted on it. The
Russian president’s pressservice agreed to it more easily than would
be desirable too.

Putin began with holiday congratulations and quickly turned to the
fact that, as everyone knows the U.S. president is facing massive
social challenges and that Russian-American cooperation in energy
production could alleviate manyof them.

That caused the American president to giggle. He couldn’t control
himself for a few minutes. He bent over with laughter, trying to
repress it but unable to. What was so funny to him? The scale f the
social challenges he faces? Putin’s suggestion about energy? Did he
remember a funny story? When he came to, he said that he was grateful
to Putin for the invitation and for the role Russian played in the
victory over Nazism.

`I am also grateful to you for the invitation for my wife and me
todine with you. I know how well you feed people here. I was already
here!’ he seemed to have recalled unexpectedly.

Putin decided to joke with him. `I saw Laura meeting with journalists
on television and how she knocks you. I think I can defend you today
at dinner.’

`Yes, she does that with humor,’ Bush defended himself.

With that, the conversation ended. They even turned slightly away from
the journalists to make it clear. But then the correspondent from Time
magazine called out to Bush, `Mr. President, why do you still think
you can trust President Putin?’

After a certain amount of bewilderment, Bush called back, `Listen,
behave yourself. Why do you still think that I can’t trust him?’

He tried to answer, but it didn’t work. Bush’s press secretary pulled
him out of the room.

Several minutes later, the presidents had left the house and were at a
car that was pretty funny looking at first glance. It was a 1956 beige
Volga GAZ-21, a rarity with automatic transmission and radio tuning in
the steering wheel.

It would make sense for the Russian president to drive the American
home. But after a few moments, Putin was gesturing Bush behind the
wheel. He looked happy and took the driver’s seat. In a few moments,
they were off.

By protocol, they were to go to dinner in that car. But instead, they
went around in circles and came back on the journalists twice.

`He’s giving me driving lessons,’ Bush yelled happily. Putin was also
smiling happily.

The only question remaining was where Putin got the car from. The
answer was so simple it was funny. He bought it.

After the presidents had taken off, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice approached the
reporters.

`I just spoke to Mr. Bush about his personal relationship with
Mr. Putin. Do they really have a good relationship?’ the same guy from
Time asked.

`They have a superb relationship,’ the usually reserved Rice
said. `They say what they think and think what they say.’

`I think she’s quoting her boss,’ the Time man said bravely, now that
his question had been answered.

They asked Lavrov what he thought about Latvian President
Vike-Freiburg’s claim that Bush had not raised the question of
national minorities, that is, Russians, while he was there.

`We specially read Bush’s speech in Riga and it is said in it that
democracy is not only the choice of the people, it is a number of
obligations of the leaders, including ensuring minorities equal rights
in every state,’ he answered. `And when I heard what the Latvian
president said, I thought that maybe we read the speech Bush didn’t
give. Then we specially asked the U.S. secretary of state and she said
that no, that was his speech.’

He looked questioningly at Rice and she nodded.

Too Strong

The morning of May 9 began with Putin meeting guests for the parade,
53 world leaders, in front of the 14th corpus of the Kremlin. That was
an especially ceremonious ceremony, until the rain started. Then he
was just stuck there.It could be called a betrayal of Russian national
interests, but then they would have to decide who the traitor was.

At first, they didn’t ant to use umbrellas as they approached to
congratulate Putin, somewhat to their disadvantage. Putin met each
leader with the words, in English, `My wife.’

Some leaders were not content with a simple handshake and the meeting
turned into high-level talks on the spot. Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi did not want to leave Putin at all. He probably
wanted to share with him his experiences with resigning. Head of
presidential protocol Igor Shchegolev tried to lead him away; former
president of Cyprus Glafkos Kliridis had already approached with
difficulty, and a wheelchair was nearby just in case. But Berlusconi
wasn’t interested in such details. He didn’t leave until he had told
Putin everything he wanted to. It was heard that they agreed to
discuss the same matters in more detail immediately after the parade.

Latvian President Vaire Vike-Freiburg had no problems with the
rain. She wore a big hat.

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmonov, unlike the others, was
escorted by a bodyguard, who tried to hold an umbrella over him. But
it was no use, and Rakhmonov hurried so fast to the parade that the
guard couldn’t even keep up with him.

One member of the German delegation conducted himself strangely. While
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was talking to Putin, that German
approached Putin from behind and photographed him below the waist
(that is, his long coat) close up.

Turkmenbashi approached Putin limping. He clearly had questions as
well after the summit. Judging from his unctuous smile, he presented
them undiplomatically. Several people tried to lead him away. He
smiled at them too, but didn’t step away until he had said his fill.

Finally the U.S. president approached him. He carried his own
umbrella. Before being photographed, he smartly put the umbrella away
(only one otherperson before him had had the presence of mind to do
that). He looked at Putin, who then suddenly thought to close up his
umbrella as well.

Amazingly, the rain stopped at that very second. After Bush had said
his two phrases and moved on, the rain began again. Bush opened his
umbrella, but the wind caught it and turned it inside-out. Reporters
laughed. Bush closed and reopened his umbrella, this time successfully
and Bush charged at the journalists with it. Several of them ran, not
knowing what to expect from him. Having avenged himself, Bush
continued calmly on to Red Square.

`Too strong,’ commented Putin in English.

Experts have yet to reach a conclusion on what he was talking about.

Taking a Break in Nature

The general verdict on the parade was that it was a hit. The veterans
did not have to march across Red Square (It had been painful to watch
them earlier trying to keep pace and stay in step.) The veterans
seated on the grandstands were openly jealous of the ones being driven
past. We understood that on our stand, the 11th, were veterans of the
Resistance. They refused to stand forthe music even when they called
out over the loudspeakers to do so and, after everyone lese had been
standing for ten minutes already, forcibly sat down strikebreakers
around the edges. But they had made their stand in the War.

While the president made his opening speech, I could see Kremlin
employees drinking beer and eating from a paper sack behind a tree. A
break in nature, you might say.

At the end of the parade, many veterans cried. There were tears on the
faces of many of the world leaders as they proceeded to lay wreaths by
the Eternal Flame as well.

Then there was the presidential reception in the Kremlin. The leaders
and members of the political elite of various countries were invited.

President of the former USSR Mikhail Gorbachev was happy to see
Vladimir Zhirinovsky there. `Volodya! May you never wet your boots
anywhere but in the rain, ‘ he greeted him.

`Let’s wet our throats first,’ he answered.

`Pashkan!’ Gorbachev greeted editor-in-chief of Moskovsky komsomolets
newspaper Pavel Gusev. `You’re still holding out. That’s great! A real
hunter!’

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov was politely talking to General
Valentin Varennikov. Former president Boris Yeltsin hugged vice
president of Interfax news agency and Kremlin news pool member
Vyacheslav Terekhov. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov got caught up in a
conversation with Duma deputy and popular vocalist Iosif Kobzon. But
the real action was around the tables of the current presidents. Bush
was again the instigator.

`Be careful,’ he warned one English veteran. `You’re sitting next to
the future president of China!’

He pointed to his wife Laura, who didn’t smile, obviously having heard
the joke before.

Then he sat down next to a former Soviet bomber pilot. She was clearly
not the joking type and tried to explain to him what the Night Witches
were.

`Help me with this lady,’ Bush said, since he doesn’t speakthe Night
Witch language. `How old are you,’ he asked.

He found out that she is 84.

`You don’t look 84,’ he said with amazement.

`And how old do I look?’ the happy Witch asked.

At that moment, Putin distracted him to present one more veteran to
him. I think he did so to get away from him (and his kisses) himself.

One of the guests loudly asked if anyone knew how the match between
Milan and Juventus turned out, obviously hoping to have good news for
Milan owner Berlusconi, who had been at the game the day before. But
Berlusconi was talking on his cell phone and, judging from his annoyed
look, Milan had lost.

`Listen. If you had a few more medals, you couldn’t keep your jacket
on,’ Bush said respectfully to one veteran. `Look. Here’s my wife. You
don’t have to stand up. I’ll have her stand and salute you.’

The veteran sat down again doubtfully.

Laura Bush saulted.

by Andrey Kolesnikov

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress