TRIP TO SUZDAL, APRIL 2007
(see photos from this trip)
John Breda, Bruce Moeckel and Barbara Coish traveled to Suzdal, Russia from April 20 to April 29. Unfortunately Bette Williams who planned to travel with the group was not able to go on the trip.
The first thing that we noticed upon arrival at Sheremeteivo Airport was the beginning construction of the new terminal there. There was also work being done on the runways. The improvements to the airport will be a very pleasant change in the first impression for tourists to Russia.
The group was welcomed to Suzdal by our host families, with whom we spent the weekend. On, Monday, we were welcomed by Mayor Sergei Godunin at which time we shared updates regarding each of our towns and exchanged gifts. We were the guests of the mayor for lunch at a lovely new restaurant, where we continued to share the hope for continued and increased cooperation between our towns.
The following day, we were treated to a daylong tour of new hotels and bed and breakfast style places for tourists to stay. Since Suzdal continues to be a tourist destination for Russian citizens as well as foreign visitors, these new places are a wonderful addition. Many of the businesses have joined together to form a group similar to our Chamber of Commerce by which they hope to encourage more tourism by their joint efforts. We were shown a rough draft of a planned small information center to be located just outside the town gates. They envision even having Suzdal’s four sister cities having information displayed there.
We were carrying monetary assistance to the Orphanages #3 and #5. Presently all orphanages are funded by the federal budget and are quite well supported. It was suggested that we split our donation and give support as well to the hospital, which is in great need of renovation. The consensus of the three Sister City members who were there in Suzdal was to split the donated money and also give support to the hospital.
To explain the organization of the government in Suzdal now is a bit complicated. There are two mayors in control of different aspects of services housed in the same Administration Building. The support of education and medical services falls under the Ryon budget and Mayor Ivanov. The Ryon encompasses the Town of Suzdal and four outlying districts as well. During a visit to Mayor Ivanov, he described the changes and renovations already made to the hospital and the polyclinic, however as he explained there is still much to do. In a later visit to the hospital, the improvements were evident as well as the areas still in need of renovation. The Director of the hospital, Andrei Mnyov, who spoke quiet well in English, was very thankful for our support of the hospital renovations.
The group visited the library and its Director, Galina Nasadova. Once again we had carried several books in English to donate to the library. A very nice small collection of these books is beginning to take shape. We were presented with two books of poetry by local Suzdal poets. These books will be donated to the Nesmith Library.
Two large duffle bags of fabric donated by Windham folks were carried to the Quilt Club. This club continues to be an avenue for women to share not only their craft, but their lives as well. They have won many awards for their group created quilts, which have been entered in competitions around Russia and Europe.
The group visited the rebuilt fire station. During previous visits the station was viewed in various stages of destruction and reconstruction. Recently the men of the fire service occupied the finished building. The entire reconstruction took three years during which time the firemen lived in tents through all seasons of weather.
A visit to Vladimir occurred on Thursday at which time in addition to shopping, the group visited an exhibition of needlework authored by Klara Suchareva. She is a former physician who because of an illness no longer can practice as a doctor. She has founded a school, where she teaches many forms of embroidery. She has authored two books, which she presented to the group as a gift.
Friday, the group made a visit to the local newspaper. As usual, the group discussed the current visit and the impressions relative to changes that have occurred in Suzdal. An article on our visit, along with photos appeared in the April 28th edition of the Suzdal News.
Many days, John Breda was separated from the group and spent his time teaching in various schools and colleges. These visits to the schools are John’s main passion. He loves interacting with the students and having them use their English skills to communicate with him. An exchange of a few students of English and their teachers of English is planned for the fall. Final plans are still in the works, but the exchange should occur in late October early November.
Although the Suzdal Administration would like to have Windham visitors to their town in August for the celebration of the town anniversary, because of conflicts, the next planned trip will be once again in April during school vacation 2008. So many positive changes have happened over the last five years in Russia, that it is a pity that people who visit Russia for the first time in the future will have never witnessed how advanced infrastructure has become in a short time. The thing that never changes over time is the hospitality and friendship of Russia’s people.
CHRISTMAS WISHES FROM SUZDAL!
Windham- Suzdal Sister City Association Annual Report – 2006
2006 marked the 14th year of Windham’s relationship with our Sister City, Suzdal, Russia. During the year, there was much contact between citizens of Windham and citizens of Suzdal, although no actual exchange of delegations occurred. A planned trip to Suzdal in August was postponed because of the late arrival of the official invitations. Telephone calls and email messages have kept the Committee updated on happenings in Suzdal and kept Suzdal updated on Windham news as well.
The Administration of Suzdal is very anxious to have more Windham citizens, including more Windham elected officials, visit their town.
The next planned visit by the Windham Committee is planned for April school vacation in 2007. During this visit the committee plans to begin the arrangements for another Suzdal student exchange for the fall of 2007. The visit will be similar to the visit in May 2004 by nine 13 and 14 year old students and their English teachers. The students will spend time at Windham Middle School, visit historic sites and live with host families. When arrangements for this exchange are complete, the Committee will ask for assistance from any who wish to assist during the two week stay.
Each year the budget of the Town of Windham has an appropriation of $500.00, which is carried to the Directors of the orphanages (Children’s Homes #2 and #5). The Mission Committee of the Windham Presbyterian Church has also donated a gift of $1000.00 to this special cause. Each time the Committee visits these Homes, the Directors are eager to show what our contributions have helped to accomplish. Our connection with these orphanages has special meaning. Each time we visit, there are new faces replacing those of the beautiful children who have been adopted, to European countries and to the United States. It is very pleasing to see three adopted siblings living a happy, healthy life right here in Windham.
The Committee continues to have a relationship with the women of the quilt club, Suzdal Swatch. Wall hanging quilts are made by these women and are for sale by the Committee with 100% of the money being returned to the author of each quilt. A few quilts are displayed at the Tax Collectors office and more quilts may be seen by calling 898-9520 or email [email protected].
Windham- Suzdal Sister City Association Annual Report – 2005
Windham and Suzdal, Russia have been in partnership since 1992. The relationship was instituted by John Barry and others. Over the years, the relationship has grown so that today many Windham people have close friends in Suzdal. Each year the committee tries to visit Suzdal and encourage Suzdal citizens to visit here. This year there were two trips to Suzdal by members of the Committee. In April, John Breda and Barbara Coish traveled there. In addition to visiting our usual friends and businesses, John spent time teaching at a university in Vladimir and spending a day at a school in the settlement of Pavelskoe. In August, Elizabeth Williams and Barbara Coish visited Suzdal for two weeks. One of the highlights of the trip was attending the annual Town Day celebrating Suzdal’s anniversary. Suzdal is 981 years old this year and perhaps older as artifacts are being found suggesting earlier inhabitants.
The committee undertakes many projects to aid the people of Suzdal. Assistance for the children in orphanages #3 and #5 is tops on our list. The easiest way for us to help these children is to bring them cash donations. In recent years, the Town of Windham budget has included a line item of $500.00, which is donated annually to the Directors of these two orphanages to be used for the needs of the children. In addition to this donation, the mission committee of the Windham Presbyterian Church has annually increased this amount with a donation of their own of $1000. This year we particularly noticed the wonderful renovations at the building housed by #3 orphanage. Many of the renovations can be directly attributed to our financial assistance.
Over the years, we have assisted the women of the quilt club, Suzdal Swatch. These women make handmade wall hanging quilts depicting different themes. Each is a wonderful work of art, which can never be exactly duplicated. The committee sells these and returns 100% of the funds to the author of the quilt.
Many new businesses and small hotels have been added to the community in recent years. There are many choices of fine places in which to stay in Suzdal. These hotels will only help to increase the desirability of the town as a tourist destination for people around Russia and all over the world.
On October 16, 2005, Suzdal held a local election. A new head of Administration was elected. His name is Sergei Borisovich Godunin. With this change in Administration, the Sister City Committee expects to see Suzdal reaching out more to all of her sister towns, Evora, Portugal, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, Cles, Italy and Windham.
Respectfully submitted by: Barbara Coish, Chairman
NEW ADMINISTRATION IN SUZDAL: OCTOBER, 2005
The Sister City Committee and Mr. David Sullivan have been notified of the results of the election in Suzdal on October 16th. The Sister City Committee received emails and Mr. Sullivan received a FAX at Town Hall.
There were seven candidates opposing the Administrator Andrei Ryzhov, who has been the mayor for the past four years. Members of the committee are familiar with some of those who ran for the post. Olga Kitaeva, a doctor and elected Town Councilor for the past several years was the first woman ever to run for the position of mayor. She placed 4th in the field and although disappointed, she was happy to say that she ran a clean, honest and good campaign. She will run for an open seat on the Town Council that will be elected in December.
The winner of the election is Sergei Borisovich Godunin, a gentleman who members have met in the past. He was a member of the Town Council and his business is a plant that produces a drink made from honey called “medovuka”. Members of the committee toured this plant during a recent visit and found it to be a great asset to the town of Suzdal. Sergei Godunin is a very good businessman and he is also very willing to reach out to Suzdal’s Sister Cities in Evora, Portugal; Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany; Cles, Italy and Windham. These are two very good qualities that should help to lead to a very successful new administration. We have sent messages of congratulations to Mayor Godunin. The committee will publish updates when new information arrives from Suzdal and we encourage folks to read about our relationship here.
Submitted by; Barbara Coish, Chairman.
VISIT TO SUZDAL: AUGUST, 2005
Bette Williams and Barbara Coish, Sister City Committee members returned to Suzdal from August 10th to August 22nd. In addition to meeting with old friends and seeing familiar sites, the Windham representatives were able to see and participate in new things as well.
As always, the Town of Suzdal finds many reasons to have a celebration. This time, the Windham visitors were treated to two different ones. Town Day is annually held in August. It is a celebration of the birthday of the Town. This year Suzdal is 981 years old. During the day, there are souvenir tables everywhere, singing and dancing acts on a stage in the square and fireworks at night. The weather was pleasant that day as it was through out the visit. On the following weekend there was a resurrection of an old holiday, which was the blessing of the harvest of apples and honey. This year the event was held on the grounds of the monastery and the bishop was there to bless all those selling their fruit and honey.
An exciting new thing for the town is the opening of a private dental clinic with the appropriate name of "Smile". Svetlana Rodionova made the decision to open this clinic with the assistance of her husband Sergei. They went to Germany to purchase the equipment and they have set up a very nice facility that will be a great asset to the citizens of Suzdal. Sergei acts as a very friendly greeter and receptionist. This couple working together will be a success story in the future.
A visit is not ever complete without a stop at the two orphanages. This time a little financial gift from individuals was donated to these children. The Director of Orphanage #3 has done a magnificent job of rehabilitating her building and she was recently named the best director in the area. A new place on the list of sites to visit was the Rehabilitation Center. This is a place where children may go temporarily if there are problems in the home while professionals work with the family to try to unite the family once again. It is hoped that this step will help to avoid sending more children to the orphanages. This center is well equipped although the visitors thought that the children would benefit greatly from having a computer upon which to learn skills. Children at this center range in age from 3-16.
Many new hotels of the bed and breakfast style have popped up in Suzdal. This time two more were visited. Travelers to Suzdal have a great number of reasonably priced fine places in to which to stay during a visit.
During a visit in May the librarian asked if the committee could bring some books in English about the real America. Several books were obtained at the Strawberry Festival and carried there during this visit. The Suzdal Library also has the entire Harry Potter collection in English as a gift from the committee. All books donated to the Suzdal Library are given in memory of the late Olga Surikova, the subject of a Scholastic Book about Suzdal.
The usual visit to the quilters took a side trip to the city of Ivanova where a tour of a fabric factory was held. In this 250 year old building workers were printing lovely designs upon the fabric. The working conditions there were less than to American standards as it was very loud, dimly lit and odors were irritating for the workers.
The quilt club has once again sent several new quilts here. These are for sale and make wonderful clever gifts for the person who has everything. Anyone interested in seeing these quilts may call Barbara Coish at 898 9520.
On October 16th there will be an election in Suzdal. A mayor and 15 town councilors will be elected. All of Suzdal's sister cities are hopeful for a good result on that date, one which will increase Suzdal's contacts with her partner towns in Portugal, Germany, Italy and the Untied States.
Also in August, a conference of towns with sister cities with Russian partnerships was held in Saratoga Springs, New York. Representatives from many towns in the northeast were present at this very successful event. Windham's committee was represented by J and Carol Gross. It is hoped that this kind of get together will become an annual event in which ideas and accomplishments may be shared.
