I met Gorbachev (sort of)
“Did he still have that huge mark on his forehead?”
That’s what people ask me when I tell them who I “met” at the UN the other day. Yes, of course he still has his trademark!
Mikhail Gorbachev (or Michail Gorbatjov, as I am used to writing in Swedish translitteration of Russian) is nothing short of legendary. So, I felt I had to go down to the headquarter of the UN when he was hosting a press conference there.
His new thing is the relationship between water, poverty and development:
Green Cross International Website
I listened to his presentation without the ear phone interpretation always available at the UN, and discovered there is at least a smattering of my Russian skills left - very deep down in the brain convolutions.
I studied Russian in high school, and then for one year at Stockholm University - but that was 14 years ago, and I have never really practiced it. Also, sadly I haven’t been in neither the Soviet Union nor Russia since 1990…
You can watch me sitting at the front row (in red) at the press conference, here:
UN Webcast Archives - Press Conferences; Click on April 21, “archived video”
Afterwards, I couldn’t resist asking for Mr Gorbachev’s autograph. It came out something like: “Gospodin Gorbatjov, pozjalyjsta, vasja podpis’, pozjalyjsta!” which means I have probably already filled my entire annual quote of spoken Russian.
He didn’t actually engage in any conversation, but I like to think that was more because he was rushing to the airport than because of my meagre language skills.
And I had the signature - in my well-worn high school Russian-Swedish dictionary (”Jans fickordbok”, for fellow-slavists/connoisseurs)…
Apparently, I am not the only one asking for Mr Gorbachev’s autograph:
Green Cross International; Important Communication
Gunilla
