Dear Editors,

Please excuse me for using English to express my point -- I believe a majority of your readers do understand it since most probably many just happen to be highly skilled professionals who had to come to Moscow in pursuit of their professional dreams. It has been almost 10 years now since I left Russia (I live in the USA now) but still I can't get over my memories and experiences related to the absurdity and stupidity of life in Moscow in general, and the Moscow "registration" rules, in particular. I lived in Moscow for a total of 12 years as as a student and post-doc. I received a fine education but by the time I got my Ph.D. (a candidate's degree) in Physics I'd realized that not only my country did not need my services but there was no way for me to stay in Moscow except for getting married to a Moscovite or becoming a "businessman". Both "solutions" looked pretty disgusting to me as means of building my future. Besides, I soon married a great love of mine who was not a Moscovite anyway. Finally, I made it to the USA where authorities are not obsessed with making the lives of their fellow citizens or immigrants miserable. I am not saying I like everything here, I am just stating the fact. Last summer I was in Moscow and walked with an old friend of mine down Tverskaya. We were stopped by a police unit just for being too joyful, I think. It was on the 4th day following my arrival and I hadn't had myself registered. I was ushered into a police van and told I'd have to pay a fine at the police station. They demanded I show the contents of my pockets and bags (hey, books and CDs, not weapons --- BIG surprise). I kept my cool and asked if they could pick my friend up as well since we didn't want to get separated. I told them I lived in the USA and they promised I'd learn their laws quickly (at the station). While the sergent major was writing down a protocol I let him know what kind of people they should be looking for, not the likes of us, of course. In the middle of this he said "You are free to go" -- I mean I didn't bribe him -- he just let us go. The whole thing left a sad residue in my mind but a glimpse of hope as well. Bottomline --- Moscow is a symbol of the worst Russian woes. Make it democratic and the rest of the country will follow suit. As long as it stays as corrupt as it is now, Russia won't move anywhere...

Московская хельсинкская группа: 207-0178 (10:00-18:00), 208-1572 (18:00-21:00)
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Управление собственной безопасности МВД РФ: 200-4703; 200-2617; 222-4135
Управление собственной безопасности ГУВД г.Москвы: 200-9866; 200-8548; 200-8936; 200-8472

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