Summer 2011 INSIDE THIS ISSUE ALBANY-TULA Connections page Don’t Miss September! 1 Sculpture Dedication 2 Road to Paradise 2 Education & Culture 3 Business Committee 5

A newsletter of the Albany-Tula Alliance • A sister city program of Albany, New York and Tula, • People to People, City to City The Celebration Continues in September!! After a busy spring filled with • Educational displays on collaborative public health ini- visits from the Open World tiatives through the years, including gerontology and en- delegation, Education & Cul- vironmental health. ture essay and Olympiad • An historical perspective on education and art contests, the Albany-Tula exchanges, including the winning essays by Capital Sculpture Dedication, and the Region entrants from our recent essay contests. premiere of musical Road to Paradise, the Alliance is now Yasnaya Polyana Returns looking to September for the next round of 20th Anniversary Also coming in September are 10 members of the Yasnaya Celebrations. Polyana Orchestra under the direction of Viktor Sinkovskii. The first visit in several years That’s when we unveil “Getting to Know You: A Retro- by this popular folk art ensem- spective Exhibit” at the Arts Center of the Capital Region ble will feature a special per- from September 9 – 22nd. Organized by members of the formance at the Arts Center of Development Committee, the retrospective will include: the Capital Region on Septem- • The Memory Project — video clips of some of the Alli- ber 18th. Stay tuned to your Viktor Sinkovskii, left, and members ance’s earliest members in the Capital Region and in Tula. mailbox and to www.alba- of the Yasnaya Polyana Ensemble will return in more numbers as the • Children’s art from students in Tula’s Polenov Art School. nytula.org/events for dates, Yasnaya Polyana Chamber Orchestra • Folk art and objects from collections of Albany-Tula Alli- times, and ticket information. to the Capital Region for performances in September 2011. ance Board members and friends.

Apologies for Website Difficulties These problems have now been rectified. We would After proudly announcing the launch of our new Web- appreciate it if those of you who attempted previously site in the last issue of Connections, the Alliance ex- to sign up for email news announcements would return perienced a crash that disrupted both the English and to www.albanytula.org/contact once again and enter Russian sides of the site for two months. We apolo- your name and email in the “Sign up for e-news” box. gize to those of you who attempted to get information, contact us, or to sign up for our email announcements If you experience ANY difficulties with this or any oth- during this time. er function on the site, please don’t hesitate to con- tact us at 518-768-7010 or [email protected]. Email Sign-Up — Please Try Again! Thank you!

Albany-Tula Newsletter-SMR-2011b.indd 1 6/6/11 8:37 PM Sculpture Dedication a Shining Occasion guests from Tula State University and The sun broke through after a week Capital Region and Tula, Russia, was the Lev Tolstoy Tula State Pedagogi- of rain to shine on the dedication of the focal point of a ceremony hosted cal Institute, as well as Albany County The Albany-Tula Sculpture, a steel by Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings. Executive Mike Breslin, Congressman globe commissioned from area sculp- Joining him in addressing the public Paul Tonko and Assemblyman Jack tor, Steve Kroeger. The globe, featur- gathering and news cameras were McEneny. Founding Alliance Chair ing a prominent bridge connecting the Chair of the Alliance Gerald Shaye, Charlotte Buchanan dedicated the sculpture by placing a flourish of roses on the bridge. Richard Miller, Esq., ac- companied by Findlay Cockrell, sang both the US and Russian national an- thems and concluded the ceremony with a rousing “Getting to Know You.”

Barbara Jancar-Webster presented certificates to the winners of this year’s Education and Culture essay and Russian Studies Olympiad contests. The winners will travel to Tula in Sep- tember with a chaperone from the Al- liance. (See page 3 of this newsletter.) Charlotte Buchanan and Steve Kroeger Alliance Debuts Musical Road to Paradise A little over a year after Board Member Dawn Stuart Weinraub first viewed a one-woman performance of Road to Paradise in Tula, members of the Al- bany-Tula Alliance brought her transla- tion of the musical to life for a Capital Region audience. The abridged ver- sion presented here as part of the Al- liance’s 20th anniversary celebration substituted narration — presented by Benita Zahn — for much of the play’s original dialogue and several musical numbers. The performance featured the playwright herself, Vera Trofimova, Ensemble members included adults and young per- Alyssa Pyle and Michael Aniolek performed the lead formers from across the Capital Region and upstate roles in Road to Paradise. New York. in a key role. Vera traveled from Tula College of St. Rose, was followed by with her husband Roman Afanasev, a champagne reception at which Chair also the musical’s arranger, to partici- Gerald Shaye toasted and thanked the pate in the production. playwright and arranger, the music di- Corine Salon of Schenectady, The musical is a whimsical mix of Broad- Benita Zahn, Dawn Stuart Weinraub, way-type solos and ensemble chorales. the young performers who traveled The story line deals with the universal from throughout the Capital Region and themes of false pride and infidelity, upstate to participate, and the numer- with courage and redemption. The per- ous sponsors and donors who made Playwright Vera Trofimova introducedRoad to Para- dise at The College of St. Rose. formance, staged on May 22nd at The the performance possible. 2

Albany-Tula Newsletter-SMR-2011b.indd 2 6/6/11 8:37 PM EDUCATION & CULTURE COMMITTEE NEWS Open World Visitors In April 2011, the Albany-Tula Alliance velop cooperation with Tula, Russia. munity colleges and Empire State Col- hosted six Russian educators under This year’s theme was “new ap- lege, known for its distance learning the sponsorship of the Open World proaches in education,” with a focus courses. The action-packed week in- Leadership Program of the U.S. Library on the innovative role of U.S. commu- cluded: of Congress. The Alliance has been nity colleges in developing curricula to • Touring the Capitol building with the recipient of Open World grants for train a workforce that needs complex Assemblyman Jack McEneny and the past ten years, and is grateful for skills. The group spent a week in the meetings with Assemblyman Bob the support Open World has shown Capital Region, visiting institutions of Reilly, Senator Neil Breslin, and an for our efforts to strengthen and de- higher education, including our com- introduction on the Assembly Floor by Alec Brook-Krasny • Serving as jury for the final round of the Alliance’s first Russian Studies Olympiad • Visits with Union Graduate College’s School of Management, Sche- nectady County Community Col- lege, Empire State College, Hudson Valley Community College, the new TecSmart Campus in Malta, and SUNY Central Administration

We thank all of the Alliance members who made the visit possible and look Left to Right— Top: Andrey Borisovich Kopylov, Warren Reich, Gerald Shaye, Olga Yevgenyevna Shumilova, Nina Reich, Evgeniya Sergeevna Istomina. Middle: John Webster, Aleksey Nikolaevich Ivutin, Dr.Yelena Viktorovna forward to supporting new coopera- Simonova, Viktoriya Ivanovna Ivanova, Kristina Krawchuk, Tatyana Valetinovna Zolotova, Nadezhda Alekseyevna tive efforts, such as offering courses Dudik, Susan Jacobsen. Bottom: Barbara Jancar-Webster, Dawn Stuart Weinraub, Sonja Stark, Yana Geogevniya Shalimova, Mary Emerson, Brian Emerson. through distance learning.

Capital Region Contest Winners to Travel to Tula The Albany-Tula Alliance is pleased to on the role the space race might play Olympiad cre- announce that three Capital Region in maintaining world peace and tech- ated last year students have earned a chaperoned nological cooperation. Wyatt has been by Professor trip to Tula in September 2011. Edu- homeschooled since 5th grade and Sergey Pukhanov of Tula State Univer- cation and Culture Committee Chair has augmented his homeschooling sity. First-place winner David, a junior Barbara Jancar-Webster presented the since 9th grade by taking classes at and honors student at Tamarac High awards on May 20th during the dedi- Union College and RPI, where he has School, has studied Russian since 7th cation of the Albany-Tula Statue (see earned straight A’s. One of a select grade and recently visited page 2). “We are very proud to be able group of students in New York state in and St. Petersburg. He has participated to recognize the initiative and talent of competition math, he is also a Nation- for the past four years in the American these young people,” she said. al Merit and AP scholar, a passionate Councils for International Education’s musician and athlete, and is training Olympiad of Spoken Russian, and in During this 50th anni- as a counselor at a national camp for that organization’s Russian Essay Con- versary year of the first highly gifted children. test, earning silver medals in both. manned flight in space Alessandra is an honor roll student at by Cosmonaut Yury Accompanying Wyatt to Tula will North Warren Central School, where Gagarin, eleventh-grad- be Russian-Studies Olympiad win- she participates in school athletics and er Wyatt Smith of Clifton Park won ners David Connor and Alessandra serves as Class Treasurer and in the the 2nd Annual Albany-Tula Alliance Pratt. The Olympiad is modeled upon Foreign Language, school newspaper, Student Essay Contest with his essay a highly successful American Studies yearbook, and Varsity clubs. 3

Albany-Tula Newsletter-SMR-2011b.indd 3 6/6/11 8:37 PM EDUCATION & CULTURE COMMITTEE NEWS Reflections from recent Tula Visitors

In April 2011, the Albany-Tula Alli- the many activities not envisaged by ance hosted the winners of the 2010 the program. Commonplace activities American Studies Olympiad organized like going to the movies or walking the at Tula State University by Professor dog actually help people to get bet- Sergey Pukhanov. The Olympiad was ter acquainted and learn more about a three-part academic contest open to each others’ countries and cultures. students interested in learning about We shared in many such experiences, America, and supported by members which helped create for me the under- of the Alliance and teachers from the standing that deep inside we are all Schenectady High School, who also the same, despite differences in our served as judges. The two winners habits, views, inclinations and tastes. ies Olympiad and that my main award were Evgenia Sergeevna Istomina, was a trip to the Capital Region! a graduate of Tula State University, This exciting and fruitful trip has en- and Yana Georgevniya Shalimova, a riched me so much, and has opened Now a month has passed since that second year student at Lev Tolstoy my eyes to so many things. I hope trip, but I remember my American holi- Tula State Pedagogical Institute. Both these impressions don’t just pass days every day! I got to know many stayed in the home of Board Member away like wind upon the waters. I facts about American history and cul- Sonja Stark, who also treated them to hope that in future the friendship be- ture when I visited in the a week of touring that included trips tween our two cities will grow and Capital City and New York, made tours to New York City, Boston, Saratoga develop continually. I hope to see of Albany, Boston and Saratoga. I was Springs, and the Adirondacks. once again all those people who made also impressed by people: they are so this trip unforgettable, who made it a sociable and polite, they are never in- dream come true. different to your problems (when we found a cat lost in Central Park in New York, so many people stopped and This exciting and asked us whether they could help). “fruitful trip has en- Those members of the Alliance who met us, who invited us to their houses, riched me so much, who accompanied us to the places that and has opened my we visited were very kind and atten- tive. It was the greatest pleasure to talk From Evgenia Istomina eyes to so many things. with them, to get to know something Despite the fact that I was far from — Evgenia Istomina about their life and their customs, to home, relatives and friends, in Albany tell them about and I never felt neglected, because my ” traditions. I was really fascinated by hosts surrounded me with warmth From Yana Shalimova these people, who are always ready to and care, sometimes sacrificing even When I started to learn English at help and to do a lot of voluntary work their own interests and needs. school, my teacher told me that we besides their jobs and other duties. Albany and the surrounding cities learn languages to have an opportunity Last month the 20th anniversary of the struck me with their beauty and fine to communicate with English-speak- Alliance was celebrated and I hope that architecture. Some really gorgeous ing people, to read books of foreign it will prosper for many more years and sites produced a tremendous impres- authors in the original, and to travel the relations between our cities will sion on me and offered me great plea- to other countries. Since that time it’s develop and become stronger. sure. At the same time the surround- been my dream to travel and to put my ing nature always was much like that knowledge into practice, to see histori- My trip made me believe that dreams of my native country. cal places and observe customs I have come true, but we should never forget read about. So it was quite a surprise that we must work and make some Though the educational activities were for me when I learned that I was a effort (as I did when prepared for the informative, most memorable were winner of the 2010 American Stud- Olympiad) to achieve what we want. 4

Albany-Tula Newsletter-SMR-2011b.indd 4 6/6/11 8:37 PM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE NEWS Internships for Russian Professionals The ATA Business Development Com- experienced professionals have con- Tatiana Klimova, an internal commu- mittee is seeking to arrange internship tacted the Alliance in recent months nications specialist for a manufacturer opportunities for Tula and Capital Re- asking if we can help them find brief, of retail goods, is seeking an intern- gion professionals. The ideal intern is non-remunerative internships with ship in public relations with an Ameri- a professional with some experience U.S. companies: can company in 2011 or 2012. Tatiana in his or her field, able to self-finance is helping the Alliance translate our the trip for one to several weeks. The Sergei Pechenin, a marketing and Web content into Russian. Albany-Tula Alliance assists by looking public relations professional from for companies willing to employ such Tula, Sergei is looking for a two- Albina Mikhaylina, owner of fashion individuals for a non-paid internship, week internship in a PR, market- design studio Design Centre Albifa, and finding in-home stays if needed. ing, or advertising agency in 2011 or LLC and organizer of The Russian 2012. Sergei has been helping the Fashion Show in Albany, NY in 2000, We are currently seeking Capital Re- Alliance with the Memory Project, a is looking for experience in manage- gion companies in the fashion and video documentation for the upcom- ment and marketing in clothing pro- public relations industries to host in- ing exhibit, “Getting to Know You.” duction and related industries in 2011 terns from Tula. Several talented and or 2012.

Tula State University Incubator Program Connections is a periodic publication of the Albany-Tula Alliance, Inc. A 501 c (3) organization receiving mail at: 43 Lyons Avenue Delmar, NY 12054 518.768.1010 www.albanytula.org

Please submit editorial Dr. Yury Chadaev with Alliance Chair Jerry Shaye. contributions to: Dr. Yury Chadaev and Vladimir Panarin turn to Tula by establishing the first of [email protected] from Tula State University spent a very what we hope will become an ongo- 518-768-7010 productive week in February visiting ing knowledge-sharing forum. In April, business incubator resources in the owners of companies in the TSU in- Albany-Tula Alliance is a Capital Region and New York City. The cubator met with the Alliance Busi- grass-roots, not-for-profit vol- visit, organized by Greg Johnson and ness Development Committee via unteer organization composed hosted by Mel Chudzik of Union Col- teleconference to share information of citizens of Albany and the lege Graduate School of Management, about their business goals and to lay surrounding Capital Region involved meetings with the groundwork for establishing busi- of New York State, partnered incubator directors, ven- ness relationships between our two with citizens of Tula, Russia. ture capitalists, and suc- business communities. We have come together to cessful area businesses provide mutual support and that had originated in lo- We are very excited by these devel- inspiration and to carry on a cal incubators. Professor Vladimir opments and believe our new connec- long-term program dedicated Panarin tion with Dr. Chadaev and Professor to the growth and well-being Dr. Chadaev, who heads a relatively Panarin will greatly assist our effort to of both communities. new business incubator at Tula State connect businesses in the Capital Re- University, followed up upon his re- gion with businesses in Tula. 5

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Albany-Tula Newsletter-SMR-2011b.indd 6 Newsletter-SMR-2011b.indd Albany-Tula 6/6/11 8:37 PM 8:37 6/6/11

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