August 26, 2008 By Grigory Pasko

Grigory Pasko: Russia Frozen in Dali Time

dali082608The clock Grigory Pasko, journalist Если Вы хотите прочитать оригинал данной статьи на русском языке, нажмите сюда. Recently, in going through my archive, I ran across a text under the name “The Clock.” Below, a subscript: “Written in prison in the year 2002.” I read it. I immediately recalled a recent event. In the Moscow-Vladivostok train I had asked the conductress: what had changed outside the window of her compartment over those 30 years that she’s been working on this train? “Nothing,” she replied. Then, thinking it over, she added, “Nothing, really. A few villages have disappeared…” That is, in thirty years in the country along the Moscow-Vladivostok route there have not appeared any new cities, villages, population centers, bridges, roads, factories, plants, hotels, tourist bases, motels, campgrounds… As if though time had stood still all these 30 years. I offer for your attention the text written in prison. Having read it, you will understand why I recalled the story with the train conductress.