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The Power of Impossible Ideas he Power of TImpossible Ideas Ordinary Citizens’ Extraordinary Efforts to Avert International Crisis by Sharon Tennison Odenwald Press 55369_Obsession i-xviii.indd 1 3/5/12 7:36 AM 2 • THE POWER OF IMPOSSIBLE IDEAS While the author has made every effort to provide accurate and authoritative information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third party websites or their content. Copyright © 2011 by Sharon Tennison All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the publisher. Published by Odenwald Press, Temple, Texas Cover design by Mark Hendrick Distributed by CCI, 820 N. Delaware, Suite 405, San Mateo CA 944401 ( ) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Printed in the United States of America 55369_Obsession i-xviii.indd 2 3/5/12 7:36 AM Dedication To my adult children Greg, Mike, Sherry, and Rob Ryan who took the reins of their own lives and completed growing themselves up when I began trying to save the world from nuclear war. o 55369_Obsession i-xviii.indd 3 3/5/12 7:36 AM 55369_Obsession i-xviii.indd 4 3/5/12 7:36 AM Acknowledgments It is impossible to acknowledge all of the extraordinary people who have been vitally important to the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI) over these past 30 years—it would take the remainder of the book to mention the names and the roles they have played. CCI is different from many institutional entities, in that tens of thousands of volunteers brought critical resources to us at specific times, then moved on, and others came in to add their unique contributions that kept up the momentum of our mission. For fear of leaving out someone very important, it feels best to just say a grateful thanks to all of you who have given your talents and expertise so willingly at various junc- tures during CCI’s history. Those of us who worked with you, Americans and Russians alike, remember your faces and your roles, the places where we intersected with you, and the gifts you brought to our common work. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! As CCI’s fundraiser, I want to extend gracious thanks to our major funders who made it possible for us all to succeed during these extraordinary years. Without their background support, the following history in these pages ahead could have never happened. Our deepest gratitude to: William S. White, President, and The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Steve Wozniak, Apple Computer, Inc. Henry Dakin The Atlantic Philanthropic Trust (formerly the Anonymous Foundation) The Arthur B. Schultz Foundation Nika Pleshkova Thayer The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) The United States Information Agency (USIA) The United States Department of State We are greatly indebted to CCI’s Board of Directors who have been with us since 1990: Arlie Schardt, Chair of CCI Board Anthony Garrett Don Chapman Nancy Glaser Neil Young Pat Dowden Susanne Campbell We are deeply grateful to the original pioneers of our work, whom you will meet later in the book. They took on the role of intermediaries between America and the “enemy.” It is 55369_Obsession i-xviii.indd 5 3/5/12 7:36 AM vi • THE POWER OF IMPOSSIBLE IDEAS difficult to remember how dangerous those early years really were—when the whole world was divided into two camps, each armed with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, many on launch pads ready to fire. Bows to those of you who participated later in CCI’s programs, who trained and home-hosted Russian entrepreneurs in your cities—you were the expertise and hearts of our programs—the conduits for transferring business information and personal goodwill between our two countries when political elites were caught up in zero-sum power politics. Our extraordinary gratitude goes to hundreds of CCI staff members, both Americans and Russians, who brought their talents and knowledge to CCI over the past 27 years. This book wouldn’t be complete without honoring the Soviet people in the 1980s who risked careers and perhaps their lives, by taking us into their living rooms and hearts. They showed us the human side of their society and later helped us find ways to expand our common work. And to our Russian directors, facilitators, and thousands of Russian Fellows, colleagues and friends in the 1990s and 2000s, you served as Russian citizen diplomats and built tens of thousands of new bi-country relationships where none had existed before—we laud your work with us and treasure our memories of you. Last, I want to acknowledge Vivian Castleberry, my role model, who has mentored me in the ways of activism and peacemaking since I was 22 years old. Of late, she was the taskmaster who relentlessly pressed me to write and complete this book. Until the final copy went to the publisher, she was still suggesting photos and tidbits for consideration. I wish all beginning writers could have such a muse on their shoulder. Kudos to Sylvia Odenwald at Odenwald Press for her patience as I obsessed over each line of the text. And to Boyd Brothers for their tolerance and support in getting the final production of the book completed. 55369_Obsession i-xviii.indd 6 3/5/12 7:36 AM Contents Dedication ................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................v Contents ......................................................................................................................vii Glossary .......................................................................................................................xv From the Author ..................................................................................................xviii Prologue—Events Prior to Travel to the U.S.S.R. ..................................1 The Need to Document America’s Early “Citizen Diplomats” .......................................1 A Shift in Thinking ..........................................................................................................1 A Powerful Idea Being Birthed .......................................................................................2 Why the Interest in Russia and How It Came About.......................................................2 Lead-up Activities that Defined Our Work ......................................................................3 Physicians for Social Responsibility—An Invitation to Act ...........................................3 Writing to the President ...................................................................................................4 A Bolt-of-Lightning Idea.................................................................................................4 Meeting the Russian “Bear” at the Consulate in San Francisco......................................5 A Chance Meeting at the Soviet Consulate .....................................................................5 Meeting Our Soon-to-be Unofficial Guide to the Soviet Union ......................................6 At the Consulate—Another Chance Meeting Meeting the Garb/Danilenko Family ...............................................................................6 Meeting My Two FBI Agents ..........................................................................................7 Meeting U.S. Government Officers Prior to Travel .........................................................8 A Proposal from an Emmy Award-winning Documentarian ..........................................8 An International Disaster.................................................................................................9 An Unexpected Meeting with the CIA ............................................................................9 PART I—1983-1989 The First Trip to the U.S.S.R. .............................................................................15 Travel from the U.S. and Arriving in the “Land of the Enemy” ...................................15 New Experiences in a New Land ..................................................................................16 Meeting Vladimir Pozner ..............................................................................................17 Speaking from a Moscow Baptist Pulpit .......................................................................17 A Story Bigger than Life—Lily Golden........................................................................20 Moscow Street Escapades .............................................................................................20 Tbilisi, Georgia ..............................................................................................................21 Leningrad—A Decaying Museum of Architecture .......................................................23 Meeting a Young Communist Party Member ................................................................24 A Forward Thinking Young Journalist ..........................................................................24 Piskaryovskoye Cemetery .............................................................................................24 Departing the U.S.S.R. for America ..............................................................................26 55369_Obsession
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